Pervasive idea of Masculine identity at the root of JA's crime problem, Grange

Culture and Gender Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange says the pervasive “idea of masculine identity” is at the root of the high levels of violence in Jamaica, including gender-based violence.

The assertion comes days after Patrick Gowans, a correctional officer, shot and killed his estranged wife, Rouleene Clarke Gowans, in front of their 12-year-old daughter before killing himself.

Just over 24 hours later an elderly man reportedly tried to kill his common-law spouse before killing himself in what investigators believe was an attempted murder-suicide.

Grange, who was addressing the Policy Meeting on Masculinity in the Caribbean at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters at Mona, argued that the idea of masculinity "taught and enforced in Jamaica" causes men to see themselves as strong and women as weak. 

“It makes them feel that they are superior to women and that they can own, control and abuse women,” she said.

According to Grange, the problem starts early in the lives of young children and has to do with “how we choose to raise our boys.”

“We tell them that they must be masculine and that masculinity is the opposite of femininity.  So they grow up to reject feminine traits in favour of masculine ones,” she reasoned.

“They must be tough.  And we spend a lot of time training them to be tough.  We punish them in certain ways to toughen them up.  We drop lick pon dem — much more than we do girls,” the culture minister continued.

The effect of these attempts to toughen up young boys, she said, is the “hardening of our society.”

“Not only men, but women who must assert themselves in the face of male aggression,” she reasoned.

Grange says a lasting and practical solution to the issue is to change the way children are raised, especially boys who are subject to violent beatings as part of their upbringing. 

“There is a saying ‘don’t spare the rod and spoil the child,’ but ladies and gentlemen, I believe we should, in the new socialisation of our children, banish corporal punishment from our culture,” declared Grange.

She acknowledged that there is no quick fix for the problem, but said “we are in a crisis and our people are impatient for action.”

Grange welcomed the idea of the policy meeting on masculinity in the Caribbean, but cautioned participants that it cannot be a talk shop.

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