The region’s patterns of consumption, media effects and trends towards increased militarism were linked, during the UNiTE to End Violence against Women’s Caribbean launch, to the perpetuation of the scourge.
Dr Rhoda Reddock, deputy principal St Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies, said skewered media, primarily from the US, normalises physical abuse, and the use of the gun.
Speaking during a session that looked at The Context of Violence: causes, costs and consequences, Dr Reddock urged people to make demands of the media, including recording artistes, and to be discerning with their choices, from television to video games.
She also rapped the respective societies for, instead of dismantling the culture to get to the core of the problem, ramping up security measures and disconnecting people.
“Get the Army, the police is not enough,” the UWI professor said of the response to rising incidences of crime. She noted the increasing reliance on private security firms, CCTV, guard dogs and devices and said, “We lobby to introduce military-style boot camps for youth. We are willing to forego human rights because of our fears, and we fail to understand that increased militarism results in more domestic violence.”
Her premise was that the increased security leads to more aggression, and Dr Reddock also posited that there are high incidences of violence in families where the male works in the armed forces and auxiliary security sector.
The “bling-and-brands culture” and the modern-day definition of success were also listed as causes of violence.
“The society values success as extreme wealth, not being a teacher or a lawyer, but being rich. These are values of the drugs-and-gun trade and other aspects of globalisation,” Dr Reddock said.
There were numerous calls for a dismantling of popular culture, and as Caricom Advocate for Gender Justice Dr Rosina Wiltshire said, there is a need to even rethink how children are disciplined.
“We need love and mutual respect for every human being and we need love and mutual respect to raise children. We must change the paradigm from fear and violence,” she said. (Antigua Observer)
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