IGDS pilots study on Caribbean masculinities
A pilot study on men, community and crime in Jamaica has emerged from the Institute for Gender and Development Studies-Regional Coordinating Unit (IGDS-RCU) at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The study analyses political, economic and socio-cultural impacts on Caribbean men, and was discussed at a dissemination seminar to present the preliminary findings at the RCU headquarters last Wednesday.
The pilot, titled “Contemporary Caribbean Masculinities: A Pilot of Males, Community and Crime in Jamaica”, was conducted between November 2016 and October 2017, and was funded by the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
The purpose was to provide an in-depth understanding of the impact of crime on the lives of males within Jamaican communities.
The study sought to create new knowledge to fill existing gaps on perceptions, manifestations and transformations of masculinities in Jamaica, how men view themselves and their roles within their communities, the challenges created by crime, and how these interact with the dynamics of gender.
The findings from the pilot study are intended to inform gender-sensitive policy and programmes geared at enhancing the lives of Jamaican males and the respective communities in which they live and operate, as well as the research agenda and framework of the broader masculinity project.
The pilot employed a mixed-methods approach including the analysis of secondary data, expert interviews and focus group studies specifically tailored to develop a demographic profile of Jamaican males; to identify meanings, perceptions and expressions of masculinity and manhood in Jamaica; to identify intersectionality of masculinity with age, socio-economic status, geographic locations and religion; to assess how masculinity and manhood influence and are influenced by crime and criminal activities in Jamaica; to assess the multiple roles that men play in alleviating crime and safeguarding communities; and to assess the implications for policy.
The focus groups comprised men from Trench Town, men from rural areas in St Catherine, such as Kitson Town, and an urban mixed professional group.
Warren Thompson, a PhD candidate with the IGDS-RCU who discussed the results from the focus groups, pointed out that both men and women admit that manhood and masculinity today manifest noticeable changes.
The recommendations were given at four levels — the institutional level, community level, national/policy level and for future research.
According to Dr Natasha Mortley, lecturer and research lead at IGDS, recommendations at the institutional level include teacher/school training to use more non-violent forms of discipline; the need for projects at the community level that encourage men to feel a sense of owning something worthwhile; the need for more gender-sensitive programmes at the policy level; and for future research, the need for surveys to include men and women from broader areas in rural and urban Jamaica.
