Violence against women is, unfortunately, nothing new in this country. On any given day we will witness catcalling turning into verbal abuse, hear a man cuss out a woman dog rotten, or even occasionally see a heated argument which is one step away from going physical. The past two weeks, however, have seen us up in arms over gender-based violence as two instances caught the attention of the nation. In the first, we had the kidnapping of a young UTech student who is presumed dead. At age 20 she hadn’t even begun to live her life. In the second, we saw the vicious physical assault meted out to a nurse by a man in what is believed to have been a fit of road rage.
These actions elicited major responses from the public. The nurses’ union, the NAJ, along with the union for midwives and other such unions, went on protest demanding that action be taken against the lowlife who assaulted their colleague. UTech students were joined in protest by students from The UWI, and other universities who demanded an end to gender-based violence and the assault on our women and girls. The abuse of the nurse was so vicious and heart-wrenching that even our politicians found time to condemn it and other acts of violence against women and children.
The radio waves were filled with talk of how this offended people; was another attack against women and children; and saw the Government suggesting that it would strengthen laws so people who attack women and children face stiffer penalties.
While the attacks were distressing and while I condemn violence against women and children, I can’t help but feel that this hue and cry from everyone belies the fact that we don’t, as a country, really care one jot about women and children and their safety. In fact, if we are to be honest, we think very little of women and children, view them as expendable and treat them as such from the top of “topanaris” in society all the way to the bottom and the man living in the inner city.
At the very top of society, we see this seeming hatred for women. All in the space of five years we have seen a politician’s baby mother murdered in cold blood along with her child, we see where a politician is alleged to have murdered his wife, and we see where a politician was alleged to have beaten his then girlfriend, now wife, repeatedly with a stool. We see cases of high-flying businessmen beating their spouses regularly, and entertainers also regularly engage in assaulting their lovers.
At the bottom, things are no better and if anything, may seem worse, despite this being far from the case. Courts are littered with cases of domestic abuse and assault and battery against women, and in public, we see that fights are not uncommon in the streets, as witnessed by the various viral videos on TikTok and Instagram. There is little pretense to respect, and the violence is out in the open for all to see.
We have a police force which routinely turns battered women away, telling them to come back later because the officers deem it too late, and far too many members of the JCF seemingly engage in spousal abuse or femicide, with the latest case seeing a constable on trial for allegedly murdering his girlfriend. If even the security forces are to be questioned in their will to tackle gender-based violence, can we really say that we as a country take this issue, which is only growing by the day, seriously?
If we are honest, violence against women, while verbally condemned, is a norm in this country, as is violence against children. In fact, if we drop all pretences, we can admit that we are a violent country for varying reasons, from history to imported culture, but the fact remains that we are a violent country. Violence, rage, anger, that is our first port of call in many situations, and that, coupled with the sense of ownership and masculinity, invariably leads to violence against women.
Talk from the Government about strengthening penalties for people convicted of crimes against women and children means nothing and is merely to join in the public orgy of condemnation. What we are witnessing cannot be fixed by laws. A societal shift is needed, and a cultural change must be made to ensure that the scourge of gender-based violence ends. We have a culture which, despite what we may see, views women as second-class citizens, not in charge of their bodies but merely commodities and items to look pretty and have sex with.
Despite the roaring success that women in this country have achieved in the workplace, in homes and in everyday life, women remain firmly at the bottom of the pecking order, even in places where they are the primary breadwinner. Despite women rising to hold the highest political offices in the land and excelling in the judiciary, women garner little respect. It is a sad reflection on society, but it is a reality we must come to terms with if the issues are to be addressed and lives are to be saved.
Almost half the murders committed are not related to gang activities, and violence against women makes up a big chunk of that. This cannot be tackled by stronger laws and more police action, especially when those enacting laws and enforcing them are prone to gender-based violence themselves. Education at all levels is needed to reverse this malady, education in the schools, churches, workplaces and homes. People must get to the point of accepting that violence in all its forms is wrong.
This will take time, it will not be a short-term achievement, and of course, it can be supplemented with stronger laws to go after perpetrators of gender-based violence. But education at all levels is the only way to stop this. Until we see women as equals, and until we move past the point of violence as the first or even second port of call, this will remain. All who saw the video of the nurse being assaulted, I am sure, are scarred for life, the image burned in our minds. The question is, will it be another nine-day wonder, or will meaningful change come because of this?
