Sunshine Velvet wants more protection for women and children

Reggae singer Sunshine Velvet is calling on the government to do more to protect the women and children of Jamaica.

"Over the past few years, we have seen an alarming increase in violent crimes against women and children in this country. Just recently an eight-year-old girl died in hospital after someone abducted her outside her school and slashed her throat. This is so heartbreaking. I can only imagine the pain that her mother and her other family members are feeling right now. I would love to see the authorities doing more to prevent such terrible acts of violence from happening to our children," she said.

She continued, "We need a sex offender registry so we can know the convicted sex offenders who are living in our communities. With this knowledge, we will be in a better position to protect ourselves and our children from the rapists, paedophiles, and murderers living among us in society. The government also needs to impose harsher penalties for people who commit violent crimes against women and children, including rape and murder. Another problem they need to address [is] sexual harassment in the workplace. This issue is very common in Jamaica."

The Sexual Harassment Act is scheduled to take effect on July 3. The act contains provisions for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, schools, correctional institutions, places of safety, nursing homes, medical and psychiatric facilities, among other places.

Sunshine Velvet is currently promoting a thought-provoking new single titled The System, which was produced by Conroy Smith and released on June 23.

"This song has a powerful message that I am sure will resonate with everyone who wants to live in a safer Jamaica. I am also confident that with the right promotion, it will make a significant impact both locally and overseas. Therefore, my team and I are committed to doing everything we can to make it a hit," she said.