Dear Editor,

If you’re a member of Jamaica’s youth population then, unquestionably, your ears are accustomed to the tune, “The youth are the future of Jamaica.”

One does not discredit or question the authenticity of such a statement, but rather the feasibility of it. When such a mantra is juxtaposed with the recent uptick and continuing spate of violence against children, it begs the question: Does Jamaica even have a future?

The Government has employed measures to reduce the overall rate of crime and violence, but what about scenarios in which children are the ones at the metaphorical and sometimes literal gunpoint? Existing crime-fighting methods have not been deliberate or efficient enough to afford us the privilege of a safe environment.

We no longer live in a society in which children and young people are inherently seen as deserving of safety and protection. We are in the direct line of fire, and we are the most affected by crime, whether we are being recruited as violent actors or we are victims.

Following the resumption of face-to-face school, there has been conversation around the increasing prevalence of children as perpetrators of violence, but what about the violence that is being meted out towards us? Do we, as a people, consciously ignore that our nation’s children have become a product of their environments? Will our Government continue to delay the call to action for the creation of a safer and healthier Jamaica that is mutually beneficial to the future of youth and national development? Emphasis must be placed on our status as victims who are experiencing a serious case of garbage in, garbage out.

What effective solutions can we come up with to stem violence against children and, most importantly, to prevent it in the first place? Our solutions cannot continue to begin and end with the justice system and harsher sentencing.

We must also identify the root of the problem and devise more innovative methods of nipping it in the bud to ensure the safety and fruitfulness of the lives of the nation’s youth.

Regardless of what is causing the issue, it is obvious that a serious effort at resocialisation is needed to solve it, and this has to be targeted at the entire population, and not just children. From experience and anecdotal knowledge, the average Jamaican does not respect or know the rights of children.

The nonchalant attitude to violence against children is perhaps most strongly demonstrated in our widespread acceptance of corporal punishment as an acceptable means of punishment for children.

As a country, we have to begin to grapple with the fact that children are often seen as additions, who become collateral in situations of violence, and not as human beings who deserve to take up space.

Calicia Vassell

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN)

advocacy@youthadvocateja.org