First Caribbean study on economic costs of violence against women and girls launched in Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, and Representative of UN Women MCO Caribbean Tonni Brodber presenting the ECOVAWG in Jamaica Report UN Women (Photo: Dorian Clarke)

The total cost of Violence Against Women in Jamaica in 2018 was JMD 102 billion (or more than USD $ 1 billion).

This represents 6.49 %of GDP.

The total costs of VAWG for a ‘typical case’ were estimated at 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars/USD 121.8 million or 0.77 per cent of the 2018 GDP.

The National Study on the Economic Costs of Violence Against Women and Girls (ECOVAWG) in Jamaica was launched by Representative of UN Women MCO Caribbean Tonni Brodber under the EU-UN Spotlight Program with European Union Ambassador to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen in partnership with Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honorable Olivia Grange.

Ms. Brodber highlighted: “In Jamaica, the total costs of violence against women and girls, is 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars for a typical case… The typical case is based on administrative data. So these are just the women who are showing up to the police and this is an underreported crime. 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars.”

“This study provides evidence which will hopefully inform decision-making and justify the budget decisions that are required for effective response yes, but also effective prevention. It is costing Jamaica too much. The stakes are really too high,” she added.

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