Ten GPS (Global Positioning System) Units have been handed over to the government of Jamaica under the European Union/United Nations Jamaica Spotlight Initiative to facilitate the integration of gender-based violence prevention strategies into community-level local sustainable development plans.

The Trimble TDC600 handheld devices valued at $18 754 USD, will support efficient data collection, community mapping and profile creation in the field. They were officially handed over to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie by United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative Denise E Antonio on behalf of the joint coordinating team for Spotlight Initiative, at a recent virtual ceremony.

Minister Desmond McKenzie in accepting the donation said the devices will strengthen not just the capacity of the local authorities to develop and implement its local sustainable development programme, but will also enhance and create a wider arena for discussion on the challenging issue of gender-based violence.

“I am pleased that Kingston and St. Andrew and Clarendon are going to be in receipt of this advanced level of technology to help them not just in terms of their overall planning and implementation programme but also to look at how we will be able to maintain and sustain the development programmes within the respective communities across the country,” Minister McKenzie said.

The UNDP Resident Representative said the joint UN team recognizes the pivotal role that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development plays in national and community development, and by extension in driving change at the local levels. “This role is critical in achieving equality at the national, local and community levels and addressing the development needs of women and men,” she said.   

Ms Antonio said applying proven technology for improved research and field work to support and inform strategic planning is critical to knowing the full extent of the challenges in support of more effective responses. “We look forward to far-reaching positive impacts of this donation as we all work together to achieve the development goals of Jamaica,” she stated.

In Jamaica, the Spotlight Initiative will invest €8 million over three years on a range of efforts – focused in four parishes – to prevent and reduce family violence, which mostly affects girls and women. Family violence refers to acts of abuse and aggression in family or close-knit relationships. This includes domestic violence, intimate partner violence, child sexual abuse and corporal punishment.

According to recent statistics, 28 per cent of women in Jamaica experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In 2018, 71 per cent of girls under 18 who were victims of crime had been raped. Two out of 10 girls aged 15 to 19 years think it is okay for a husband or partner to hit his wife or partner, and 85 per cent of children experience violent discipline at home.