Friday, June 23 was designated a national day of mourning for children who have been victims of violence.

According to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), in 2022, more than 1,800 children were victims of murder and sexual offences, including rape. The recent murder of Danielle Rowe has only heightened the level of brutality. A United Nations Children’s Fund study shows that 80 per cent of Jamaican children experience violence at home. And let’s not forget our women. Jamaica has the second-highest rate of femicide in the world, according to Caribbean Policy Research Institute, and one of the highest incidence of rapes — an estimated 15-21.3 per 100,000.

Enough of statistics. Take a casual stroll through one of our towns and you will likely encounter domestic conflict, which is a regular occurrence, flavoured by the exchange of choice Jamaican “bad words” — one of our highly prized and world renowned exports — and ear-splitting boom boxes disturbing people’s livelihood. And while sauntering on the road, you run the risk of being mowed down by those ubiquitous, almost homicidal, taxi drivers, speeding recklessly to get more passengers — more passengers more money.

Jamaica, in my opinion, is one of the most indisciplined countries in the world, and with indiscipline comes crime and violence. Here’s another statistic: Jamaica, with approximately 2.8 million people, has 400 gangs; Haiti, by comparison, with approximately 11.65 million people, has 200 gangs.

The way children are treated will, of course, determine the kind of adults they become. Their early days in school, apart from learning the three Rs — reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmitic — will help build character, develop enquiring minds, and encourage civic obligations in their communities. But, in Jamaica, indiscipline starts early.

When indiscipline is rife and the quality of education poor, there is violence among students, between students and teachers, and even between parents and teachers. And gangs in the communities wait with open arms to recruit delinquent students.

But there’s still hope for young, innocent minds. The home. Nowhere in our culture is there an institution that can more deeply serve the needs of our maturity than the home. The home helps build character, instils affection, teaches responsibility, and most importantly, self-control.

But, alas, Jamaica is riddled with dysfunctional homes. Children are victimised, beaten, sexually abused, and they become victimisers and aggressors themselves. The scourge of fatherless boys is rampant. Who are their role models? Boys who grow up without fathers are more likely to be aggressive, drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, or end up in prison. They easily fall prey to bad influence and gangs.

Do children learn violence from the role models in their families or their heroes on television and in dancehall? Consider these lyrics, courtesy of dancehall artiste Mavado, “Neva know, so mi AK stay. Addi head buss like bomb bay. Kill dat inna church when di pastor ah pray. Murder yuh likkle bredda pon di funeral day. Cut di new born throat cause yuh know mi nuh…” Studies from North American Journal of Medicine and Science 2010 show that graphic lyrical content in music can impact adolescents behaviour. Other studies concluded that exposure has little or no impact. I disagree.

What about guns? Guns surely make it easier for people to kill. Nonetheless, people do not automatically kill one another just because they have access to guns. The Israelis and Swiss are armed to the teeth but have low rates of gun crimes, and among American states, Maine and North Dakota have the lowest homicide rates, but almost every home has a gun.

Some researchers chant the mantra that “violence is a public health problem”, as if it were contagious or a mental disease. It’s not a disease in the medical sense. Certainly, some individuals are genetically more prone to violence than others. Men kill more than women.

The lion’s share of killers are young men between the ages of 15 and 30. They tend to have a distinctive personality profile — impulsive, low intelligence, hyperactive, attention deficit, easily angered, and vindictive.

Our chimpanzee cousins prepared us for violence, they have 96 per cent of our genes and are the most aggressive mammal. And let’s not forget the impact of hormone testosterone on dominance and violence. Statistics would indicate that Jamaicans are predisposed to violence and its worth mentioning that they may possess genes arising from pugnacious ancestors — slaves from warrior tribes.

Jamaica’s social ills of poverty, unemployment, social instability, and economic inequality are not unique in the world, yet other countries are less violent. So what’s wrong with our people? After all, people are the perpetrators, not the country.

A cursory glance at an acquaintance known to be a troublemaker in your community may offer a clue as to his potential to be violent. Is he greedy or power hungry, willing to use short-term or illegal methods to acquire money? Does he have high self-esteem, which makes him more susceptible to ego threats by punishing the critic, thus boosting his ego and establishing his dominance? Does he enjoy sadistic acts?

Ever since St Augustine prayed, “Lord, make me chaste but not yet,” individuals have struggled with self-control. We are all confronted with threats. People with weak self-control are more likely to retaliate with acts of violence. When insulted, jealous, and frustrated, we are susceptible to the temptation to come to blows, but with self-control, we can resist. It also allows self-restraint and the postponement of immediate gratification, which would lead to self-harm.

For most people, violent impulses are typically restrained by inner inhibitions and self-control. Self- control may fail because upbringing and socialisation have not made it strong enough or because the Jamaican culture tells people that it is appropriate to lose control.

Ethon Lowe is a medical doctor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or ethonlowe@gmail.com.