Stories about Jamaica from December, 2016
In the Social Media Age, How Should Jamaica’s Head of Government Communicate?
"Jamaica’s Prime Minister [uses] social media. To imply that the press is asking hard-hitting questions that only they are capable of asking, is negating the opinions of the public."
2016: The Year the Caribbean Was Forced to Confront Its Attitude Towards Women
"We do not talk truthfully among ourselves about [...] harassment. Verbal innuendo and unwanted remarks are part of the culture we do not want to get rid of."
Domestic-Murder Spree Clouds Christmas in Jamaica
"The system of patriarchy continues to socialize men into a false belief that they have the right to control women. Consequently, gender-based violence [...] seems almost ‘normal.'"
2016 Was the Caribbean's Year of Loss
For bloggers in the Caribbean, “2016” has nearly become an obscenity. Adjectives now used to describe this "annus horribilis" include "sucky", "terrible" and "the worst".
The Rape of a Teenager Raises Concerns About How Jamaican Police Respond to Gender-Based Violence
"Many girls (and boys) find themselves in cycles of sexual abuse. It is a horrendous rite of passage for many young persons in Jamaica."
Dancehall Directory? A New Yellow Pages Cover Stirs Controversy in Jamaica
"When [they] attacked the Yellow Pages for their representation of this aspect of our culture, they didn’t just attack a genre of music…they attacked an identity, a way of life."
Caribbean Women Take Their Power Back by Sharing Stories of Sexual Abuse Via the #LifeinLeggings Hashtag
"#LifeinLeggings is the story of women AND girl children [...] A large number of the stories are of childhood events. [...] Measure the country's level of civilization against that."