Members of Parliament Condemn Recent Acts of Violence Against Women and Girls

Members of Parliament on Tuesday (May 20) condemned the recent acts of violence against women and girls in Jamaica.

These include the killing of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon; the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) student, Anisa Dilworth, who was reported missing and whose body was recently discovered; and the random, brutal attack on a defenceless nurse by a man holding a gun.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, in her statement in the House of Representatives, said the viral video of the attack on the nurse has angered the nation and was the motivation for demonstrations towards ending violence against women and girls.

“I attended the Advocacy Walk Against Violence Towards Women and Girls, along with other members of this Parliament. We went to listen, to commiserate, and to express our commitment to protecting women, punishing perpetrators of violence, and ending the violence. We can end the violence but it requires all of us to end the violence. Each of us has a role to play,” Ms. Grange said.

The Minister noted that violence against women and girls takes many forms, including homicide, rape or acts causing or tending to cause danger to life or bodily harm, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and abuse of children.

Ms. Grange said the Government has brought a raft of policy and legislative initiatives to deal with the violence in all its forms.

“In this regard, we have strengthened and proposed further strengthening of laws to include stronger and more appropriate penalties. Just recently, this House debated the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill, the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill and the Child Care Protection (Amendment) Bill, which seek to appropriately treat with and increase the penalties for the offence of murder under Jamaican law,” she noted.

In 2023, amendments to the Domestic Violence Act were passed to offer greater protection for victims and survivors.

The amendments include expansion of the category of persons allowed to apply for protection orders on behalf of the abused, including the Children’s Advocate and the Bureau of Gender Affairs.

In addition, the Court can now direct respondents to relinquish to the police any firearm or weapon that the respondent may have in their possession or control, and which may or may not have been used.

Also, the penalty for breaching a protection order has been increased to a fine of $1 million or imprisonment for one year.

“A Joint Select Committee of Parliament has been meeting to review and consider further amendments to the Domestic Violence Act. The public was invited to make submissions, which have now been compiled. The Committee will meet over the next two months to complete the overhaul of the Act,” Ms. Grange said.

Additionally, the Government has increased funding for psychosocial support to victims and survivors.

Ms. Grange said the effect of this is that the Government is now providing better services to victims and creating mechanisms for resolution of conflicts.

“There is more training for police officers and first responders, especially in health facilities and emergency services. We have established specialised units within the Jamaica Constabulary Force to respond to cases of domestic and sexual violence. The police have established 10 Domestic Violence Intervention Centres that are managed by police officers who are trained to intervene through a variety of methods, including home visits, referrals and counselling,” she noted.

Additionally, two State-run shelters for vulnerable women and their children are now in operation.

For her part, Opposition Spokesperson on Gender Affairs, Persons with Disabilities and Inclusion, Denise Daley, also condemned the recent spate of violence against women and children.

“We have done a lot of things in here, but there is much more that must be done to protect our women and girls; and more so, too, in silence, some of the young men are being abused and feel afraid because they feel that they are going to lose their masculinity. Values and attitudes must come back in this country; we have lost respect for women and girls,” she said.