‘None of us are safe!’ - UTech nursing students say they feel targeted

Two final-year nursing students from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), say they are worried and fearful, not just as future healthcare professionals, but as young women in Jamaica.

There has been a wave of violence against women and girls in recent weeks, including the disappearance of UTech student Anisa Dilworth, whose skeletal remains are believed to have been discovered on Saturday, and the beating of a nurse last Thursday. The students joined others in a peaceful protest yesterday demanding action, protection, and justice.

"We feel threatened," declared Donie Graham. "I don't understand why they are hurting us. Imagine we study and work hard to be in a position to protect lives and offer care to people, and yet they are turning against us and hurting us. How does that make sense?"

Graham, a fourth-year student, said she showed up at the gathering to support nurses and speak out against gender-based violence.

"Every day you see news about females being abducted and or assaulted. It has been happening too often and I don't know why." Her classmate, Shanique Cousins, echoed the same fear and exhaustion.

"I too am a woman, and when I wake up and I see the news that women are being targeted, being attacked, the very same women that put their lives on the line every day to care for you or your loved ones, and you have the nerve to pull us from a vehicle and just attack... it hurts," she told THE STAR.

Cousins said that the discovery of the bones, despite no confirmation yet that they belong to Dilsworth has shaken her to the core, and that the dual identity of being both student and nurse-in-training has intensified their anxiety.

"We're feeling it from both angles. None of us are safe. None of these women, neither young nor old, are safe."

Despite their fear, the women said they remain hopeful that justice will prevail and that the country will be safer. Dr Kevin Brown, president of UTech, Jamaica, said the university community is in a state of mourning.

"We are very distraught by the loss of one of our students, especially under the circumstances that surround her passing," he said. "We want to continue to express our condolences to her family and her friends. We're trying to come to terms with what has happened to Anisa." He said that in response to rising concerns, the university is reviewing its safety protocols, particularly for students living off-campus.

"We have invested significantly in security across our five campuses, with manned guards and CCTV surveillance. The challenge, though, is once students leave campus," Brown explained. Among the measures being explored are shuttle services for late-night commuting and a safety alert mobile app.

"We're also looking into which taxi companies have safety features such as GPS tracking and panic buttons, so we can recommend those to our students," he said. "A lot of our students come from rural Jamaica. It's their first time in the Corporate Area. We're going to try and do more around promoting safety practices once they join the university."

While the administration works on infrastructural solutions, Brown emphasised the broader need for cultural change.

"We should not be a country where women feel threatened, where women feel unsafe," he said. "I really hope that Jamaica uses this as an opportunity for us to look again at our culture, especially how we behave toward women. We need a complete reset."