No excuse for abuse - Government to launch campaign to stem gender-based violence
Published:Sunday | November 18, 2018 | 12:00 AMRomario Scott/Gleaner Writer
"Too much man a beat woman, too much man a kill woman, it must stop," was the declaration made by gender minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange on Sunday at the National Arena in St Andrew as she vowed that the Andrew Holness-led administration will be introducing several measures to give women more protection.
Grange, addressing the Labourites at their 75th annual conference, said the Government has introduced a policy to end gender-based violence.
She also said that the administration was finalising the much-anticipated Sexual Harassment Bill.
Coupled with that, Grange told the gathering that the Government has also purchased a property to house women who may be in danger while living with their male counterparts.
"The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) ensured that from now on, if you have a little problem at home and you have to leave the house, there is a shelter for you. I can't tell you where the shelter is because where the shelter is located is not supposed to be public knowledge, but it's a guest house we buy, so you will have a nice bedroom, and you will have good facilities," Grange said.
She mentioned that the No Excuse For Abuse campaign will soon be launched to help drive sensitisation around the Government's push to stem gender-based violence.
The Central St Catherine member of parliament, while noting that the JLP does not support abuse, cautioned women not to provoke their men.
"But a telling the women, don't provoke your man. Don't go scratch-scratch dem up because yuh hear seh dem have another woman. Because if you provoke the man and him drop some blows pon yuh ... because man a human being, too," Grange said.
Audley Shaw, who spoke after Grange, also expressed alarm over what he described as disrespect being meted out against women and children.
"Every time I see what happening in Jamaica, I see the disrespect for our women; I see the disrespect for our children, and I say, 'My God'.
"We can restore the economy, but if we really want to move from poverty to prosperity, we have to rescue our people, we have to rescue our children, we have to build in them a sense of pride, we have to not just educate them in terms of academics, we have to set standards, and we've got to lift up our standards," Shaw, the North East Manchester MP, said.