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Raise awareness: Jamaicans have a habit
of being experts, but our understanding of
the problem of violence is poor. There is
need for public, honest, research-framed
material (no propaganda or agenda).
The immediate crisis is our family –
There are too many crisis families. The
most urgent are single-mother households
with no extended family attached and/or
stable visiting father, and in some cases,
no attachment to CBOs or faith-based
groups. The Government of Jamaica and
international donors should target these
families for direct financial and social
support. No such family should be
allowed to carry on in a violent communi-
ty without intervention through a team of
social workers and other social engineers.
This is the core site of our violence night-
mare!
The second plank of our crisis is the treat-
ment of boys – Irrespective of what some
Jamaicans would wish for us to think, boys
are the primary victims of violence in
Jamaica, and not surprisingly, they become
our primary perpetrators, especially since
neglected and battered boys are the primary
target of gangs.
Boys are three times more likely to be
brutally beaten in the home than girls.
They make up 93-95 per cent of children
victims of stabbings, shootings, and brutal
batterings.
They make up 90-95 per cent of children
killed in Jamaica. They are actually more
likely to be killed than women and girls
combined.
They are three to five times more likely to
be consistently hungry; two to three times
more likely to be underweight.
They are three times more likely than
girls to be neglected by a father who is
extra-residential.
They are almost always expected to drop
out of school to fund their sisters’ educa-
tion when economic crisis hits the family.
They are far more likely to be sent to a
‘pickey prison’ by family members than
their sisters, who commit the exact same
crime (violence or stealing).
They are less likely to be adopted when
they are sent to a foster home.
A quarter (25 per cent) of all working-
class and inner-city boys hustle on the
streets, where they learn from others
about the cruelty of the country and
receive training in violence and survival.
Jamaica is too boy-hostile! Our core prob-
lem is that neglected boys do not always go
away and cry – sometimes they make us cry.
If you wish to challenge my position try this
experiment. A few years ago five females
were raped in Jamaica in one incident. In the
same period, two little boys were raped and
killed. Do an Internet search and note the time
it takes to find both in the media. Remember,
the media present what is important to you.
Reducing violence requires change.
WHAT IS MOST URGENT (WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS)?
PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 2, 2017