Tourism Ministry responds to claims of sexual assaults at local resorts

The Edmund Bartlett-led Ministry of Tourism says the safety and security of Jamaicans and visitors are always of the utmost concern and underscored that all cases of sexual assault are being given full attention.

The assurance is in response to a news article today by the Detroit Free Press in the United States which highlighted claims of sexual assault of American tourists at Jamaican resorts.

According to the article, 78 Americans were raped in Jamaica between 2011 and 2017, citing statistics from the US State Department.

READ: Claims of sexual assaults at JA resorts.

" Perhaps most alarming for tourists is that sexual assaults are occurring inside gated resorts - the place they are led to believe that they are most safe," a section of the report read.

The tourism ministry, in a statement this afternoon, said that it strongly condemns these incidents of assault and all other crimes against visitors and citizens alike.

“We want the public to be assured that all cases that are identified, whether they are current or of a historic nature, are being given full attention because Jamaica is committed to maintaining a safe, secure and seamless destination,” the ministry said.

“Additionally, Jamaica prides itself in our record of being hospitable to over 20 million tourists who have visited over the past seven years. Jamaica also has a world-leading and very high repeat visitor rate of 42 percent with an extremely low rate of crime against our visitors.

“Once again, the safety and security of our citizens and guests are always of the utmost concern,” said the ministry.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.