JCC wants more action to curb violence against children, women

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce’s Crime Monitoring and Oversight Committee (CMOC) has expressed satisfaction with efforts being made by state agencies to address violence against children, but said more needs to be done.

Speaking at the bimonthly CMOC press briefing, gender activist and committee member Nadeen Spence noted that the advances being made by each agency were commendable. These advances, she emphasised, include the establishment and roll-out of a national plan for an Integrated Response To Children And Violence; and the appointment of an officer within the Ministry of Education with direct responsibility for the planning and receipt of funding from UNESCO to engage a consultant to develop the monitoring and evaluation framework for the plan.

Spence noted that the committee was very happy to see action on the part of all agencies and departments responsible for childcare.

“We believe it is very important to engage critical stakeholders in the early stages to mitigate against the siloed approach to dealing with the critical issues and to ensure that there is a joint approach to addressing and executing the plan,” she said.

However, she noted that while there was progress being made with regard to violence against children, there was still work to be done as it relates to gender-based violence.

Noting that the committee is still awaiting responses from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to affirm the status of recommendations that had been agreed for addressing gender-based violence, Spence said the committee was, in the meantime, looking at the legislative framework necessary to protect women and children.

“We have a keen interest in how quickly the Sexual Harassment Bill will make it through Parliament. We are also having conversations with the responsible ministers around the revision of the Sexual Offences Act, as well as updates to the Child Care and Protection Act,” she said.

According to her, the committee was seeking to engage the Jamaica Constabulary Force in the areas of tracking sexual assaults, domestic violence and homicides related to women and children.

Chairman of the CMOC Lloyd Distant also provided updates on consensus priorities, such as legislative reform (including approval of the outstanding MOCA regulations), improvement plans being undertaken by the Department of Correctional Services, as well as transformation of the JCF.