Chang slams attack on women and children
Jamaica’s national security minister, Dr Horace Chang, yesterday said that the attacks on women and children appear to be “more heinous and barbaric”.
The minister, speaking in Parliament yesterday, mentioned the murder of Manchester resident Khyhymn Campbell, who was murdered on August 28, and her body found in an igloo in a motor car along Marshall’s Pen Road in Manchester by the police. He said the crime “Indicates a level of callousness in the souls of some of our citizens that must be rooted out”.
“While we can speak to an overall 21 per cent decline in the number of murders in Jamaica since the start of the year, there has been a series of cruel attacks on vulnerable groups – particularly the elderly and young girls,” Chang said.
“The forever silent voices of 38 of our children that were taken from us since January, like 14year-old Yetanya Francis and 14year-old Raven Wilson, saddens and shame us as a nation, the minister said. He also noted the slaughter of Deon Smith and her 16-year-old daughter Jayshenel Gordon, as well as the slaying of 25-year old Khyhymn Campbell.”
He said that the Government is embarking on a number of relevant legislative pursuits to strengthen the legal framework to provide greater protection to women, children, and the elderly as well as to strengthen the legal authority to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“The safety of all citizens, the security of our public spaces, and the protection of our borders remain the mandate of this ministry. But I reiterate to this House and indeed the citizens of Jamaica, that our women and children, the disabled and the elderly must be protected instead of assaulted and violated,” Chang said.