Sekklez hits out against ‘jacket’ giving

Dancehall newcomer Sekklez believes that paternity fraud destroys families and that the practice needs to stop in Jamaica.

She is raising awareness about the practice with her latest single, Paternity Fraud.

"I know someone close to me whose mother gave her to the wrong father, and it had serious emotional consequences for her; it mash up her 'meds'. I have friends who have two and three fathers and I have friends who love their stepfather, only to find out that he is their biological father."

The song was leaked on YouTube and Instagram, triggering many comments and interactions online.

The feedback has been so great that she has fast-tracked her plans to shoot a video for the project.

In 2021, St James Central Member of Parliament Heroy Clarke indicated his intention to bring to Parliament a motion calling for mandatory DNA paternity testing at birth. However, the issue of paternity fraud remains widespread in Jamaica.

A recent cross-sectional study by the Northern Caribbean University revealed that 67 per cent of Jamaican females said they knew of another woman who had committed paternity fraud, and that 26 per cent of Jamaican fathers who took part in the study admitted that they had been victims of paternity fraud.