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Pepper Spray Them!
Jamaicans Push for Legalization of Self-Defense Weapons Amid Increase in Kidnappings of Women
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Biden Invites Jamaica and Antigua PMs to Global Climate Summit United States President Joe Biden has invited two Caribbean prime ministers to his “Leaders Summit on Climate” to take place virtually at the White House on April 22 and 23. A White House statement said Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and his Jamaican counterpart, Andrew Holness, were included in 40 world leaders invited to the summit. In its statement, the White House noted President Biden “took action” his first day in office to return the U.S. to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Days later, on January 27, he announced he would be convening a leader’s summit “to galvanize efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis.” The “Leaders Summit on Climate” will underscore the urgency—and the economic benefits of stronger climate action and “will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November
THURSDAY APRIL 1, 2021
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20-year-old Khanice Jackson was abducted and subsequently murdered last Wednesday in Jamaica.
By Sheri-Kae McLeod
S
ince last week, Jamaicans at home and across the diaspora have increased their calls to the Jamaican government to do more to address gender-based violence on the island. These calls stem from the kidnapping of a 20-year-old Portmore resident, Khanice Jackson on Wednesday, March 24. The abduction and subsequent death of the young accounting clerk have sparked national outrage among Jamaicans, with several public figures like retired sprinter Usain Bolt, dancehall artists Shaggy and Sean Paul, Prime Minister Andrew Holness and several members of parliament, also expressing shock and sadness at the events surrounding Jackson’s death. Jackson is just one of hundreds of young Jamaican girls and women who have gone missing this year. The uptick in kidnappings has renewed calls for the Jamaican government to legalize self-defense weapons for women. But while the government struggles with curbing violence against women, many have decided they cannot wait on an elusive solution from their leaders. “I not waiting for government to tell me if it legal to protect myself from kidnappers and rapists, I making sure I can protect myself,” said a young woman residing in Red Hills, St. Andrew. Some people in the diaspora have admitted to getting calls from female relatives and friends in Jamaica asking them to purchase and send pepper sprays to them, despite the importation ban on the island.
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