Stop it now!

WESTERN BUREAU:

Lennox Wallace, manager of the St James Public Health Services, has issued an appeal to women, urging them not to remain silent about domestic abuse, arguing that such silence fuels a dangerous cycle of violence that harms families and the society at large.

“It is time for us to put an end to the violence against healthcare workers, women, and our children. We want to say to these abusers, ‘stop it now, you are less than a man’,” said Wallace, who spoke to The Gleaner on Monday during a protest by nurses from St James, who came out in solidarity with a colleague who was recently physically abused by an irate businessman in Kingston.

Wallace also took aim at those women, particularly wives and mothers, who knowingly shield abusive men from facing the consequences of their actions, simply for financial security or family reputation.

“It starts from the home. I believe that, if you check, in most cases, the persons who commit these acts in public are doing much the same thing inside their homes.

Following a recent incident, St Andrew businessman Robert Bell, who is believed to be the man captured in a viral video assaulting a nurse in what was believed to be a case of road rage, was arrested and charged for several offences related to the incident.

The St James-based nurses who gathered with placards before the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in Sam Sharpe Square, were the latest group of Jamaicans who have publicly showed their disgust with what was seen in the video, by staging protests demanding an end to violence against women.

Bell, who is charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and multiple firearm-related offences, was remanded in custody when he made his first appearance in court.

Jennifer Pearson, a senior public health nurse in St James, who was numbered among the protesting nurses, said the healthcare community will not back down but will continue to fight to ensure their colleague gets justice.

“We are here to register our support for the nurse who was savagely beaten by a man in Kingston,” said Pearson. “We just want to say we are all for no violence against women and children, and we will continue to register our protest until this type of behaviour stops.”

According to police reports, the May 13 attack, which occurred at about 7:15 p.m., happened when the nurse’s car was reportedly blocked by Bell’s vehicle. A dispute followed during which the woman was physically assaulted multiple times.