Editorial | A civic culture needed

An initiative that trains a handful of barbers to bring a message of peaceful resolution and non-violence to their clients is worthy of replication throughout this country, which continues to reel from the cumulative impact of violence.

Reading the report about The Barber Chair in this newspaper signals a glimmer of hope as it highlights a deep desire to confront some of the knotty issues that make life for some people virtually unbearable. It also aims to reach men who, according to statistics, are the main drivers of violence in our society. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 35 per cent of women around the world experience physical and sexual violence each year. When one considers that many households in Jamaica are run solely by women, the impact can clearly be seen.

In recent months, the local news has been dominated by reports of extreme sexual violence, including death, meted out to women by their angry partners. This is in addition to a national murder rate that continues to soar to new heights.

The barber shop provides the perfect platform for these 18- to 50-year-old barbers to hold frank discussions around topics like rape, incest, violence, infidelity, forgiveness, and tolerance.

Training for the barbers is provided by the Jamaica Mental Health Advocacy Network (JaMHAN), which is a grantee of the US Embassy Women’s History Month pitch competition. The project also provides the barbers with appropriate literature to further reinforce their arguments on HIV/Aids, gender-based violence, and mental health.

These barbers ought to be joined on the front lines by hairdressers, construction workers, and others in the workforce who want to make a difference and engage their colleagues in ways to turn around the society. We desperately need to foster a new civic culture in this island.

Officers not well equipped

Two things are patently obvious: the police are not well equipped to prevent criminal activity from taking place, especially in domestic situations, or to apprehend criminals who continue to commit the most heinous crimes under their noses. The other thing to note is that while Government will respond aggressively to shore up the economy, the response to violence and crime has been far less robust. A declining dollar gets swift, more effective action than a soaring murder rate.

So the key take-away from projects like The Barber Chair is that responsible Jamaicans and concerned citizens must step up and make a concerted effort to staunch the violence that is so prevalent and help to reshape the society.

It’s another shot at the values and attitudes campaign, which has been touted for so long but never fully supported by the majority. There has to be greater support for community groups that are willing to join the initiative against violence. They need resources to be effective. With greater support, we see these groups performing important tasks like interventions in the family, in the Church, in schools and among parents.

So we applaud the US Embassy for facilitating what we see as an important precedent, a project that we hope will influence other groups to get involved in the fight against crime and violence on a wider scale.