KINGSTON, Jamaica–Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dana Morris Dixon, has reiterated the Government’s commitment to curbing gender-based violence.

“I know, as an Administration, we have done a lot of work, legislatively and otherwise, in terms of having the shelters for women, in terms of the sexual harassment policy; and I should note that this week at Cabinet, we did approve the [members] for the Sexual Harassment Tribunal. So we don’t just talk about the issues, we actually endeavour to fix [them],” she stated.

The minister was responding to questions during Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

Morris Dixon cited domestic violence as a “very complex matter” around which to facilitate discussions, “because invariably you have issues in relation to what persons would have experienced growing up, what they would have seen in their communities [and] what may seem normal to them”.

Consequently, she underscored the importance of counselling in collectively addressing gender-based violence, “because we know this is an issue that we need to fix”.

Senator Morris Dixon said socialisation is also key in tackling the issue, which, she pointed out, is pervasive and permeates diverse segments of the society.

“We, in our education system, have to be able to show what a healthy relationship looks like,” she said.

-JIS