KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) has strongly condemned the recent horrific violence meted out to women and girls and is urging men to embrace “health-seeking behavior”.

“The reports of an assault on a nurse by an irate motorist, the disappearance and presumed death of Anisa Dilworth, a student of the University of Technology and the killing of young Kelsey Ferrigon, all in quick succession, have once again jarred the conscience of the nation and elicited its outrage,” said the JCC in a statement.

“These incidents of violence against women and girls are painful to acknowledge and distressing to our souls. The promise of fulfilment of dreams for the young have been summarily cut short and the scars of the trauma caused by the horror of abuse must now be navigated by surviving victims,” it added.

“We grieve with the families and acquaintances of these victims and extend our sympathies and prayers for their comfort. While we do so, we raise our collective voices once again in the strongest condemnation of all forms of violence,” the JCC continued.

“We do this based on our understanding that scripture calls us to love our neighbour (Luke 10:25-37), to embrace the principle of non-violence (Matt. 5:38-42) and to affirm the image of God in all human beings (Gen 1:27),” said the JCC.

It has placed the “light of scrutiny” upon the forms of violence in which women and girls are predominantly and disproportionally the victims, for example, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, all forms of domestic abuse and the abuse of children, especially girls.

“The misogynistic tendencies in our land are abhorrent and abominable and demand our most sincere and vigorous efforts to cleanse our national and corporate souls and restore civility and peace. We call on our nation, therefore, particularly our men, but also our women and children, to return to the policies and practices that foster an environment of care and protection for women and girls, and one that prioritises their wellbeing and safety,” the umbrella church group said.

It added that: “This is not beyond us, for there were days in our not-too-distant past when we were kind and gentle to our women and girls. We acknowledge however, that this scourge of violence against women and girls points to the depth of the darkness in the souls of many of our men who have ignored the warning signs of physical, mental and spiritual ill-heath. We call on our men to turn away from the misguided notion that men do not need care and so refuse to regularly check on their health, be it physical, mental or spiritual. We caution our men to take note of the ways in which excessive stress and unwholesome lifestyles can cause serious deterioration to their health. Indeed, we bemoan the fact that too often, the targets of the ill-health of men are vulnerable women and girls”.

“We therefore encourage our men to seek help and to do so early. The church is equipped and capable of enabling our men to be heard, helped and healed. We invite them to talk with a pastoral care-giver in their moments of distress and uncertainty and where necessary, the doors will be opened to professional care. The nation’s men must wrap our womenfolk and our children in the warmth of affirmative and intentional love and assure them of our unequivocal commitment to their safety and well-being”.