KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) today  launched the “Violence against Children Reward Fund”, which will be used for rewarding people who assist in the arrest and charge of anyone who has committed violent acts against children, including teenagers up to the age of 18 years.

According to a news release from the PSOJ,  violent acts against children, in this capacity, would include murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, molestation, carnal abuse or child abuse.

The proposed fund will hold a minimum of one million Jamaican dollars and will be managed by Crime Stop Jamaica, who will be responsible for determining the value of each reward granted based on a case by case scenario. All contributing donors will be kept informed of each reward paid out at any given time.

Eva Lewis, honorary secretary of the PSOJ, expressed gratitude to the donors who have already contributed. Musson Foundation has made a one-million-dollar donation to start the fund.

Melanie Subratie, Chair of the Musson Foundation explained that “We must remember that our children represent our future, and they are the ones who we are relying on to make for a more productive society. They can only fulfil that if we allow them to enjoy their childhood and learn to be productive citizens. For this to happen we must show them love and guidance, and refrain from any act of mental or physical abuse.”

In his remarks, Deputy Commissioner of Police George Quallo noted that murder, rape and sexual offences against children have trended down in 2016 in comparison to 2015. “We had 61 reported murders in 2015, we have recorded 40 so far for 2016. Rape was 352 in 2015, now it is at 234 and sexual offences which was at 463 last year is now at 261.”

Gage- Grey highlighted that the CDA has partnered with artistes and other stakeholders to launch a “Crime Free Christmas” social media campaign. She also pointed out that the launch of the Violence against Children Reward Fund is timely as children are more vulnerable during the holiday season.

The fund already has 1.2 million other contributors to date include Guardsman Group, Prime Asset Management, Charles Hyatt, First Caribbean Bank, Pan-Jam, Grace Kennedy, Prism Communications and Sterling Asset Management.