KINGSTON, Jamaica— Radio broadcaster Markland ‘Action’ Edwards has argued that there is an urgent need for a radical cultural shift in family life and gender relations as well as increased community activism and intervention to curb incidents of abuse of the country’s women and girls.

Edwards, who is vying to become the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate for the post of mayor of Portmore, made the comment in his prepared remarks for the party’s virtual St Catherine Southern constituency conference on Sunday as he condemned the recent killing of 20-year-old Independence City resident Khanice Jackson.

According to Edwards, a decline in healthy families, including how boys and girls are socialised, supported by certain cultural norms reinforced by dogmatic religious views and popular music, have led to a dangerous mindset among some men which may be a contributing factor in incidents of abuse and violence against women and girls.

“For too long men in Jamaica have adopted and accepted ideas relating to women that have led to a sense of entitlement and dominance, oftentimes manifesting as violence and abuse,” said Edwards.

“Men, a woman is not your property and when she says ‘no’ that must be respected.  Have we really stopped to consider how some men have interpreted teachings that a woman should be submissive to a man? We need to raise a generation of boys who are socialised to love, protect and respect a woman and this needs to start happening from early in the home,” added Edwards.

He charged that there is a need for respected elders in the community to intervene and provide guidance where possible to help to deal with incidents where a woman says she is being stalked or harassed.

Edwards also implored the police to aggressively take an interest in and investigate reports of domestic abuse and missing persons.

Arthur Hall