jan-2018

6 7 insult to injurywas the tendencytovictim-blame,putting theonusonwomentoprotect themselves frompotential predators. But therewere victories,too.In Jamaica,theTambou- rineArmymovementbeganto“advocatedifferentlyfor the rightsofwomenandgirls,”unapologeticallyputting the issueof sexualviolenceonthe frontburner.Whileone of thegroup’s founders facedaseverebacklashfor it (she wasarrestedandchargedonthreecountsof“theuseof computer formaliciouscommunication”under thecoun- try’sCybercrimesAct,ostensiblyfor“namingandshaming” allegedperpetrators),thegroupwaseventuallyvindicated, withthecountry’sDirectorofPublicProsecutions (DPP) saying it was“not a viable prosecution”. PROTECTION OF THE MOSTVULNERABLE Perhaps the brightest spot of all when it came to women’s rights wasTrinidad andTobago’s abolition of childmarriagewhich,up until this year,had been legal. Jamaica also stepped up to the plate by taking steps to improve itsmissing child prevention and recovery efforts via a Facebookalert system.The countryalso created a database to track the human rights violations of the region’smost vulnerable communities. In that vein,the Jamaican PrimeMinister,Andrew Holness,made a historic apology for the“grave injus- tice”of an attackmade on Rastafarians in 1963.Eight Jamaicans were killed onwhat has come to be called “Bad Friday,”and asmanyas 150 Rastafarians were rounded up,arrested,abused,and had their dreadlocks cut as part of an atmosphere of systematicoppression, discrimination,and open hostility towards them that had begun prior to independence. However,indigenous communities still face an uphill OPENING LINES battlewhen it comes to gaining rights and recognition in the region. THE LOWS LACK OF TRUST IN STATE BODIES Corruption—or at least the perception of it—still re- mained high on netizens’radar this year,withministers in various territories racking up big bills at the expense of the publicpurse. InTrinidad andTobago,the head of statewas em- broiled in a corruption scandal that involved his receipt of a housing allowancewhile occupying state housing, and though police have announced their investigation into thematter,nothing further has come of it to date. Trinidad andTobago’s judiciarywas also facing a decline in public trust after the country’s lawassocia- tion passed a symbolicno-confidence vote against the chief justice.The controversy that followedwas quite involved and is still ongoing.To add to the judicia- ry’s woes,a former attorneygeneral was arrested on charges of perverting the course of justice andmisbe- havior in publicoffice. In a disappointing turn of events in Jamaica,a review by the Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF) absolved the officers involved inwhat has come to be known as the Tivoli Gardens Incursion,where,under a state of emer- gency in 2010,security forces entered the troubled