Outgoing UWI Guild president calls for public safety strategy to protect women, children

WESTERN BUREAU:

Perry Cummings Jr, outgoing president of the Guild of Students at The University of the West Indies, Mona, has called for a comprehensive public safety strategy in response to recent incidents of violence against women and children.

His comments come in the wake of two high-profile cases: the suspected murder of 20-year-old Anisa Dilworth, a student of the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), and the brutal killing of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon, a third-grade student at St John’s Primary in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

Dilworth was reported missing on May 6. A body believed to be hers was discovered in Portmore, St Catherine, more than a week later.

Ferrigon was found dead on May 9 at her home on Job Lane in Spanish Town. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Condemning the violence, Cummings told The Gleaner that these incidents underscore the urgent need for a targeted, countrywide approach to public safety, particularly as it concerns women and children. He urged improved community policing, especially in high-risk areas, and proposed a “centralised reporting and a rapid response system for crimes against women specifically”.

Cummings is also suggesting that the Government regulate the local transportation sector more effectively. It has been suggested that Dilworth went missing after utilising a ride-sharing service; however, the company indicated that she last utilised its platform in 2024.

RECOMMENDATION

“We have to improve transportation safety. We need to regulate and monitor public transport operators more strictly. We would need to introduce GPS-enabled public transport tracking, emergency alert buttons, and better-vetted drivers, especially as it relates to the ride-sharing apps,” he said. “The Government would [also] need to step in, frame a policy where it is a shared operation, where the Government is very much involved as to who the drivers are.”

He further recommended the development of a mobile safety app designed to empower women. Such an app, he suggested, could allow users to share real-time location data and discreetly alert the authorities, friends or relatives in emergencies.

Beyond the recent murders, Cummings pointed to the recent case of a registered nurse being physically assaulted by a male motorist during a suspected road rage incident as another alarming example of gender-based violence.

Cummings told The Gleaner that these barbaric acts demonstrate the dire need for a public education campaign against gender violence, adding that research is needed in the area.

“Why is it that women are always targeted when it comes to these types of crimes? Is this a cultural issue? Is this a mental issue in some of our men? Is this a generational issue? Do we see violence against women among a certain age group of men? Is music still influencing this type of behaviour [of] belittling women … and that results in men feeling as if they have power over [them], and so much so to harm them? We need to do more research to get to the root of the problem,” Cummings said.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com