A discussion on sexual violence against girls and women in Jamaica

Sexual violence against women and girls in Jamaica is endemic. However, the problem has not amassed the public outrage and attention that other forms of violence have garnered. It also has not received the scholastic intensity and the communal investments it deserves. The current article aims to focus attention on the disturbing issue of sexual violence against women and girls in the Jamaican context and to steer the matter into the academic arena. The review suggests that the risk factors for sexual violence against Jamaican women and girls are akin to those reported in international studies and similarly catalysed by the complex interplay of structural and socio-cultural features of the society. In light of the paucity of relevant local research, the article discusses critical strategies that have been effective in international settings and their probable benefits to the local setting in stemming the incidence of sexual violence.