Tag: children’s rights

Jamaicans for Justice Concerned Over Latest Fire in a Children’s Home

August 17, 2019

I had a déjà vu feeling last week on hearing the news of another fire at a children’s home. Fortunately, no lives were lost but the The human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) – currently celebrating its twentieth anniversary – has consistently lobbied on behalf of Jamaican citizens in state care, including children … More Jamaicans for Justice Concerned Over Latest Fire in a Children’s Home

Human Rights Day in Jamaica: Against a Background of the Arts, Much to Be Done

December 11, 2018

Human Rights Day this year was particularly significant for the world. We have to think “world” on Human Rights Day, and then get out our magnifying glasses and zoom in on a map of Jamaica and the Caribbean. For all of us, it was the 70th Anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of … More Human Rights Day in Jamaica: Against a Background of the Arts, Much to Be Done

Jamaica on Saturday, July 21, 2018: Energy Worries, Dreadlocks Annoyance and Drought Biting

July 21, 2018

I haven’t written a news update since Easter! With so much happening, I should never have left it so long. I can only say that I have been overwhelmed with all kinds of commitments and things that have dragged me away from my regular news focus. Here’s an update for the last week (or perhaps … More Jamaica on Saturday, July 21, 2018: Energy Worries, Dreadlocks Annoyance and Drought Biting

JFJ Calls for Official Public Report on Tragic Fire at Walker’s Place of Safety

February 6, 2018

I often get the feeling that our children are not as safe as they should be. Even those “in need of care and protection,” to use the official term for children who have been abandoned or who cannot stay in their homes. Fires are all too common in Jamaica, and children are too often the … More JFJ Calls for Official Public Report on Tragic Fire at Walker’s Place of Safety

National Youth Conference To Tackle Youth Rights in Schools

November 23, 2017

This is Youth Month, and there is an important conference taking place next week. This is happening in the context of ongoing violence against children, social media “outrage” over graphic viral videos showing child abuse, and an endless debate about what is called “corporal punishment.” (Why do we always think of children in terms of … More National Youth Conference To Tackle Youth Rights in Schools

UNICEF Worried About Violence in the Lives of Jamaican Children and Adolescents

November 2, 2017

“He hit me first!” A memory turns itself over. We were driving in heavy traffic somewhere in town, when we observed a scene being played out by the side of the road. A group of adults and one child – a small boy, maybe four or five years old, was being loudly reprimanded by an … More UNICEF Worried About Violence in the Lives of Jamaican Children and Adolescents

$75 Million Allocated To Retrofit Police Lock-Ups For Children: So What Happened?

October 27, 2017

Originally posted on Right Steps & Poui Trees:
In 2013, the Jamaican Parliament was told that $75 million was to be spent retrofitting five police lock-ups with “child friendly” areas for the detention of children. In 2017, a Parliamentary Committee has now been told that the retrofitting of four lock-ups was completed in 2015 and…

Mother Beats Daughter: The Wicked Woman We Love to Hate, by Damien Williams

October 5, 2017

Here is another response by community development practitioner and blogger Damien Williams to the video of a woman beating her child in rural Bath, St. Thomas (this happened some time last year). The woman, Doreen Dyer, was held in custody for two nights and charged with cruelty to a child. She has been granted bail … More Mother Beats Daughter: The Wicked Woman We Love to Hate, by Damien Williams