KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness says nurses, police officers, justice system personnel, and other frontline workers will benefit from training in understanding gender-based violence.

The training is part of the 2021 work plan for the Spotlight Initiative, which has been approved.

Speaking in the House of Representatives Tuesday, the prime minister said that the 2021 work plan also includes expanding domestic violence intervention centres attached to police stations across the island, strengthening local coordination networks that support survivors of violence and abuse, and supporting the establishment of national shelters for survivors of gender-based violence and their dependents.

The Spotlight Initiative is a three-year programme costing approximately US$10.9 million, which is aimed at addressing family and gender-based violence in Jamaica.

It seeks to contribute to transforming the society into one where women and girls can live free from family violence.

Holness noted that while the initiative takes a women and girls-centred approach, efforts will also be made to engage men and boys “to address the toxic masculinity that is embedded in the society”.

As such, the programme will also seek to educate parents and men to explore beliefs and attitudes towards gender-based violence.

Holness told the House that the Spotlight Initiative is being implemented at a time when widespread crime and violence against women and girls continue to affect families and communities.

He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened an already bad situation and that around the world there is a 30 per cent increase in reports of violence against women.

The Spotlight Initiative Country Programme for Jamaica was launched in March 2020, in collaboration with the European Union and the United Nations.