Dear Jamaican Women & Girls, sorry we couldn't make it safe for you.

17yr old Micholle Moulton, murdered while she slept in her
Arnett Gardens community. Her 12 yr old sister was also
shot and is in hospital in stable condition. 

I don't know what it feels like to be a girl growing up in Jamaica, and honestly, I'm thankful I won't ever have to experience it. I don't think I could've handled half of what a Jamaican girl has to endure by the time she hits puberty - in particular, the constant male scrutiny which at any point could manifest in violent assault. The worst part is, most Jamaican men are completely oblivious to this reality and would either vehemently deny the situation is as bad as it is, or casually suggest there are other places which are far worse off. And just like that, it's back to "Jamaica, no problem." If it wasn't already obvious, the recent murder of a 17yr old student because she is alleged to have turned down sexual advances from men in her community should make it abundantly clear that Jamaican women and girls aren't safe in Jamaica and it's all our fault.

Micholle's murder is continuing a 5-6 year trend of increasing sexual assault on girls of high school age that has recently ramped up in the past two years. In 2011 when the trend had started to become worrying, an executive summary from the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) rationalized the uptick by stating that "This coincides with the increased recreational activities such as dances, parties, outings, and wakes," This statement is made even more bizarre by the clear statistical information in the study which shows:

"Most victims are raped at their homes, at their friends' homes, on the way to or from school and work, and while walking alone along lonely roadways."

If this second statement is true, then what on earth is one to make of the first statement? It appears that even when there is solid evidence to suggest that a rapist is more likely to be an acquaintance, even the professionals are still operating in the "rapist-hiding-in-the-bushes" paradigm. In a way I can understand why; while you can advise women and girls against walking home alone at night and attending alcohol fuelled parties, how do you warn them a potential rapist could be living at home with them now? The boogeyman rapist narrative rallies support and mobilizes resources, the rapist-might-be-my-father narrative does not.


Could this crime problem have a gendered dynamic? 

A global study on homicide done in 2013 by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that 96% of convicted homicide perpetrators were men. This is actually the same figure for the Americas region of the study which includes the Caribbean (pg. 13). Though no definitive figures are available for Jamaica, I would guess the percentage of male homicide perpetrators is in the high 90s as well, probably somewhere around 98% if the news reports are anything to go by. If women started to murder men and boys in the manner that men do it to women, by the third news report a national gender emergency would be declared. There would be no end to the organizations lining up to have an urgent intervention in the "women crisis" that would be gripping the island. But when men rape, sodomize, beat, and burn a teen girl it is the work of demons. And mark you, this isn't always meant to be a metaphor - many people actually believe "real" fucking demons to be the cause of these kinds of crimes. If demons were responsible for acts of gruesome violence, why aren't they possessing women in equal proportion? Does the possession happen via a man's cock?

It's time we wake up to the realization that at the core of Jamaica's crime problem is an element of the way in which boys are (anti)socialized. The data cannot be this glaring without significant attention being focused in that direction. Indeed, no long term crime reduction initiative will work unless this stark reality is simultaneously addressed. As Jamaican men, we have royally fucked up in our duty to keep our women and girls safe.


Jamaican women, get your head out your asses 

One of the most disgraceful displays in all of this is what happened when a news team visited the community a day after Micholle and her sister were shot. Apparently, community members were offended by the allegations that Micholle's murder was due to her spurning sexual advances from men in the same community. As far as these protestors (all of whom were women) were concerned, the Micholle's mother tarnished the "reputation" of the community by suggesting that her daughter was murdered because she didn't accede to being raped. Presenting themselves, as it were, in half slips and shower caps with stomachs bulging over the top of washed out tights, these women were the very picture of inner-city backwardness and dysfunction. One of them found it necessary to wonder aloud "Why dem neva rape me?" hinting that, if men in the community were desperate for sex, she would've been an easy low hanging fruit - no need to harm Micholle. This idea, of course, belies a fundamental misunderstanding of what rape is; it has nothing to do with inaccessibility to sex, but everything to do with a desire to assert power. In all their braying and grunting at the camera, not one of these women expressed a word of remorse let alone outrage at Micholle's murder; they were far more interested in protecting the (non-existent) reputation of their community (nicknamed "Zimbabwe" - now you tell me ... ) and the men who lived there. With ingrates like these willing to sacrifice their dignity in defense of the men in their community, is there any wonder why upwards of 90% of rapes go unreported?


And no, God's not coming to save our women either 

It hardly needs repeating, but neither an imaginary God nor the church is going to fix this problem for Jamaica. This isn't a problem being fought in a "spiritual realm" - this is a practical, real world disaster we are facing in Jamaica. As such, no time should be wasted bawling out to Jesus to rescue Jamaica - he sees each of the 900+ murders on the island and does fuckall, so maybe it's time Jamaicans disavowed themselves of their divine safety blanket. And lord knows we can't hope the church will magically correct this problem - when pastors aren't themselves raping children, we have God-fearing residents more than willing to defend the current status quo. Obviously, persons who identify as Christians need to a part of the solution (they do, after all, comprise the vast majority of Jamaicans), but unless they plan on coming to the table with research-driven methods, absent bible babble, they need to stand aside and allow those with the requisite expertise to get the work done. Enough time has been spent praying about crime in Jamaica - it's long overdue for Christians to get give their knees a break and engage their brains for a change.

Sometimes I worry about friends of mine in Jamaica raising young girls. I worry that, at any time, one of their daughters could fall victim to Micholle's fate. I personally know several Jamaican girls who have. I try to think what I would do as a parent in their shoes, and the same answer always returns - leave. As soon as resources permit, and opportunity presents itself, get your daughter out of Jamaica. Coward? Sell-out? Unpatriotic? Fuck that. Call me whatever version of turncoat you can find, but one label I'd never want for myself, or anyone else, is grieving parent. I'm sorry we couldn't have kept you safe Micholle, and I hope your bravery in sticking to your principles is the catalyst necessary to force us to do better.



Cool Dude. 

One March to Bring them All

Source: Youth for Change

Popular Jamaican dancehall, DJ Bounty Killa, thinks abusing women is "weird." This same DJ who himself was charged for domestic violence, but was never convicted on account of the accused not showing up for the trial, has recently publicly denounced violence against women amid the weekly reports of gender based violence coming out of Jamaica ranging the full span from beatings to flat out beheadings. His denouncement came in the nick of time too; a coalition of women advocacy groups got vocal about his upcoming performance at an event organized by the gender ministry in Jamaica. These women (and not a single man as far as I know, mind you) questioned the rationale behind allowing someone accused of gender based violence to perform at an event for survivors of gender based violence. Sensing the mounting public disapproval, Bounty was quick to remind his detractors that he was never convicted, he's a changed man, and beating women is "weird." Oh, and he threw in a threat of legal action against one of his detractors for good measure. 

Violence against women and girls has a long and storied history in Jamaica stretching back several centuries to the plantation society. If the police reports about the depravity committed against girls is horrendous now, with a functional security force,  legislation to protect children, and a host of advocacy groups, one can only imagine what it was like on the plantation before black girls were humans. Admittedly, Jamaica does try to do right by women and girls, and has managed to make improvements on the equality and protection of women since the time of slave economy. It's the areas where we fall woefully short which are disastrous; gaping loopholes in our sexual offences act, an investigative framework which moves at a snail's pace for sexual offences, a lack of measures to protect children in all contexts, and a general ambivalence towards domestic violence. So, yes, we've gotten some things right since the 17th century, and we aren't the worst where this problem is concerned. But, we are so embarrassingly far from achieving a safe and encouraging society for women and girls that we should move into a panicked frenzy to address the problem and remain there until the job is done. 

Men's role in all of this

If Jamaican women started chopping off the heads of their spouses, by the third time it happened, gender experts would emerge from all corners of the island to urgently host symposia and conferences asking the question "what is wrong with our women?" Evangelical snake oil salesmen would descend on the island from North America to exorcise the Jezebel demon possessing Jamaican women, and social media would be buzzing with how these women have finally gone mad. In essence, if Jamaican women started committing violent crimes at the same rate as men, no one would doubt this is gender-based issue. We fail to highlight this same paradigm when men are the perpetrators of violence primarily because men control the narrative. Women can berate men for propagating violent crime in their "sister circles", but if the correlation between gender and violence is to be an agenda item for national discourse, it's men that would have to put it there. And we sure as hell aren't going to single ourselves out as the culprits. 

Enter Tambourine Army 

Well, as it turns out, whether us men want to acknowledge our role in violence against women, someone is doing it for us. The Tambourine Army, an activist movement which coalesced in the last few months, has been making their presence felt on social media. And what a presence it is! When news broke late last year about a pastor caught in a sexually compromising position with a minor (aka raping the child), it set off an outcry throughout Jamaica. The Yardie Skeptics did a few shows related to the issue, but it was the #saytheirnames movement which set social media ablaze. Jamaican Survivors of sexual violence took to Facebook and twitter and started to list the names of their abusers. All the shit hit all the fans once that started happening; perpetrators began threatening legal action against the women in the campaign, even while they were being dragged off to the nearest lockup to answer to charges of rape. During the maelstrom, a distinct advocacy group began to emerge. They've called themselves the Tambourine Army. Emphasis on the army, since their militant, no fucks given approach to pushing back against gender based violence has massacred several egos in the short two months since they've officially come up with a name. And they've done quite a bit of real work in that time too - public forums, letters to the newspapers, several appearances in media (including the Yardie Skeptics radio show) submitting a proposal to a committee reviewing the sexual offences act, and organizing a survivor empowerment march. 

Boots on the ground 

I've never really been a fan of marching as a form of advocacy, especially where violence is concerned. As far back as I can remember, Jamaicans have been doing exactly that to no avail. When they do finally get off their knees praying that the violence will end, they sing and march down the streets; placards in hand, and platitudes galore. Pointless on both fronts. At the end of the day they return home and ignore the screams next door while a women gets pummelled by her spouse. Or ask to themselves "what did she do to make him so angry?" 

The Tambourine Army seems to be doing something different though. At the time of writing it is the day before their march. A march which seems like an exclamation point at the end of a very long and passionate manifesto. The guardians of Jamaica's patriarchy (both men and women) have distanced themselves from the movement claiming that the militancy is alienating, offensive, and likely illegal in some respects. Soldiers in the Tambourine Army aren't swayed - they've come to look cute and disrupt the establishment, and looking cute ended in the 90s. I'll be looking out for tweets, pictures, and live feeds on tomorrows march. No doubt the empire will fight back and launch missiles to intimidate the marchers. But something tells me, it won't work. This movement can't be stopped - not now, not tomorrow. And as for their general, Stella, she's a bumboraasklaat genius. 

(Tambourine Army  has a Gofundme page, I sent them a few dollars just now, if you can chip in go ahead)

- Cool Dude.