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.