Jamaican Entertainers join Prime Minister Holness in Commitment to Spotlight Initiative

These were the penetrating lyrics delivered by international recording artiste and GBV survivor Tanya Stephens as she performed her visionary song “What a Day,” after sharing her experiences at the national launch of the European Union funded, United Nations and Government of Jamaica implemented Spotlight Initiative against Family Violence.

Tanya’s afternoon performance came after popular recording artiste Taurus Riley had soulfully delivered his global megahit “She’s Royal” in support of the campaign to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. Spotlight’s launch at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters took place in the capital city of Kingston on Monday, 9th of March, a day after the celebration of International Women’s Day which was branded Generation Equality.

As a survivor of violence and an agent of change, Tanya invited the audience “to change the narrative.” Her plea with Jamaica to “Stop being good on paper and get out there in the streets where we are suffering. We are suffering out there. It is a war and we are losing,” was strongly applauded.

The UWI afternoon event was a follow up to the Ceremonial Signing and Official Launch of the Spotlight Initiative which was led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Office of the Prime Minister.  Mr. Holness shared the troubling local statistics that based on a 2016 Women’s Health Survey, 1 in 4 Jamaican women will likely experience physical or sexual violence.” He shared the vision of the Initiative that all Jamaican women and girls, particularly those most marginalized will live lives free from violence through prevention strategies and the expected multisectoral responses of the project.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Latin America and Caribbean Director Jolita Butkeviciene highlighted that the EU trusted Jamaica to make a good return on the investment – evidenced in the changed lives of families, women and girls.

In a special message in her role as Member of Parliament, the Hon. Juliet Holness called for urgent changes in cultural norms, starting with institutions such as the church and schools. Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson-Smith re-iterated her thanks to the international development community as well as the commitment of the Government of Jamaica to the Spotlight Initiative and Agenda 2030.

Director Michelle Gyles-McDonnough from the UN Sustainable Development Unit congratulated Jamaica on the integration of the performing arts and edutainment in the campaign for gender equality and the reduction of family violence. She referenced the afternoon’s edutainment performances by adolescents from Artcore, The Company Dance Theatre and The Ashe Company as potential national best practices to be used to mobilize all Jamaicans into action against family violence.

The Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica is an investment by the European Union of approximately $10.6 Million (USD). Implementation is being led by the UN agencies UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP and UNICEF and associate implementers UNESCO, UNAIDS and PAHO. The programme is to be rolled out in four target parishes: The Kingston and St. Andrew Metropolitan Area, St. Thomas, Clarendon and Westmoreland. Significant elements of the programme will still have national impact.