Grange sympathises with Paulwell over murder of his daughter and her mom

Gender Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has sympathised with lawmaker Phillip Paulwell following news that his 10-month-old daughter and her 27-year-old mother were shot dead and their bodies burned in a case that has shocked Jamaica. 

"I commiserate with all, including my colleague member of parliament, Phillip Paulwell," she said Friday evening, in a statement condemning acts violence against women in Jamaica and expressing solidarity with relatives left in grief.  

The police today reported that Sarayah Paulwell and her mother Toshyna Patterson were murdered on September 9, the same day they were abducted from their St Andrew home. Four persons, including a woman who shares a child with the opposition member of parliament, have been charged with various murder-related offences. 

It is the third mother-daughter murder in recent weeks, joining a series of other crimes involving women and children victims.

Minister Grange argued that the attacks are a reflection of the society. 

“We can tell a lot about a country by the way it treats its women and children. What does it say about us when we see such horrific violence resulting in the death of women and children in our country, especially during the last few weeks" she said. "To condemn the violence and to say that our prayers are with the families do not express the pain and anger that I feel, that we all must feel, when we hear the chilling details of the violence."

At a meeting this week of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Violence Against Women Committee to give an update on the status of women in Jamaica, Grange said she admitted that "despite various legislative, policy and programmatic measures, violence is still a challenging reality for too many of our sisters".

Some of the responses include the establishment of shelters, domestic violence intervention centres at police stations and helplines.

"We need all hands on deck now to end the violence. We can end the violence, but it requires all of us to end the violence," Grange said, adding that "the risk of violence is greatest in societies where the use of violence in many situations is a socially-accepted norm. The risk of violence, sadly, is high in Jamaica, because too many of us believe this violence is normal and inevitable." 

Grange said: "We have to take stock. Do we want to be known as a country that kills its women and children? Or do we want to be known as a nation whose men and women live and work together in harmony? The choice is ours."

The government helpline for women seeking support is 876-553-0372.

United States Navy petty officer 34-year-old Leoda Bradshaw, her 30-year-old cousin Roland Lloyd Balfour as well as Richard Brown, 31, both Kingston graphic artists, and air conditioning technician 29-year-old Roshane Miller are the four charged in the case involving Paulwell and Patterson. 

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.