Java concerned about ‘epidemic’ of violence
Dancehall artiste Java is concerned that a ‘hidden epidemic’ of physical violence against women and children has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I grew up in Seaforth, St Thomas, which is a poor community, and I saw a lot of cases where children and women were physically abused because of the stress of the poverty life. I know that the pandemic only makes it worse. People jobless, dem lose their income, no food, no school. So the people dem need fi hold it even more. Yu see the headlines
Dancehall artiste Macka Diamond says people should be focused on ending abuse instead of trying to identify the abusers, following the various allegations that have dominated social media since late September.
The entertainer recently shared her story of allegedly being beaten with a board by a dancehall artiste at a studio complex. She said that she was entering her early 20s and going by the moniker Lady Mackerel when it happened.
“I need these people to stop questioning who it is and let us come together and console women,” Macka Diamond told THE STAR. every day, but as a people, we have to hold it and be more militant,” Java said.
That’s one of the reasons why he released the single Stronger, featuring Shaqstar, on October 10 on the Air Records/ New Wavez Entertainment labels. The song is dedicated to the youth facing poverty and injustice, and addresses the fears of a potential increase in domestic abuse due to stay-at-home conditions during COVID-19,
“I wanted to share a message of hope and perseverance. The song is tellling the youths to be
“We nah talk bout lock up nobody, find nobody, beat dem up or shoot dem. We want fi find a way where the women can come together and we talk about it on a year-to-year basis or whatever we wanna do and be there for each other.”
To drive her point home, she referenced another instance in which she says a promoter in another Caribbean island pointed a gun to her face.
“It’s not just beat mi wid board, it’s a lot of different kinds of abuse that we go through as females in this world and what people have to understand is, it’s about the abuse. We don’t care who is doing it. We just want to be able to know that they have to look at us different in this business as women with more respect and love because there’s a lot and we’re afraid to talk,” she said. strong, stay militant. We see what the people dem a go through, but we ah tell them that violence is not the answer. Despite the pain and anger, we cannot condone any sort of violence. We have to stop the violence against women and children,” he said.
Statistics compiled by the United Nations say one in every four women in Jamaica has been physically abused by a male partner, and 25 per cent of Jamaican women have been sexually abused by men who are not their intimate partners.
Macka Diamond revealed that she is feeling good having aired her story, though she wondered if the artiste would have contacted her with a negative response. Instead, she said people have been reaching out with cash offers for her to spill his name.
“It’s crazy, that’s not the point,” she said. “The point is, I’m standing beside Tanya Stephens and I want to thank her because I didn’t know seh no other artiste woulda put them hand pon a female, I thought it was just me alone. Even if it’s not sexual, I got hit by someone, she got hit by someone too. I thought her life was okay.”
But like Stephens, who used her rape experiences as fuel for her success, Macka Diamond did the same.