How low can we go?
published: Sunday | July 9, 2006

THE EDITOR, Sir:

OH! What distressing news today regarding the gang rape of the young girl and the deacon's complicity to the act. Do we place so little value on female life? And someone from the church at that, felt no need to do anything about it and resolve it as "internal?" How low can we go? This continuous sexual violence against women and girls has got to stop.

Where are the male voices out there? What are the men's organisations going to do to work with young men and older men about how they relate to and treat women? What kind of gender-based activities are they going to design to address their male audience? What kind of family-life values are they going to encourage to facilitate peaceful relations between men and women and reduce these horrible, horrible acts against our women?

Even if we take the usual male argument that the female 'deserved it,' no kind of behaviour warrants such a violent reaction. What kind of state are we in in a society if this is how we feel we can 'handle' our women so violently, whether in a cartoon or in real life? What do the men have to say? What do the men plan to do? What responsibility are you all willing to undertake to reduce such violent masculinity which diminishes their own humanity along with their families and communities?

I am etc.,

REBEKAH LAWRENCE

navelstring@post.com

Kingston 13

Via Go-Jamaica