The World Council of Churches, working with the Jamaica Council of Churches and Caribbean and North America Council for Mission, offered a training in Jamaica to help people cope with violence against children, particularly sexual violence, gang-related violence, and gun violence.
A warm welcome with cheers and high expectations awaited WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit when he touched down in Kingston earlier this week. The Jamaican capital was the first stop of a 10-day tour in the Caribbean.
Un accueil chaleureux, des applaudissements et de grandes attentes pour l’arrivée du secrétaire général du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE), le pasteur Olav Fykse Tveit, à Kingston en début de semaine. La capitale jamaïcaine est la première étape d’une tournée de 10 jours dans les Caraïbes.
During an open air common prayer event held in Nelson Mandela Park in Kingston, Jamaica on 4 October, women and men processed and sang, most of them dressed in black as they renewed and expanded their commitment to the Thursdays in Black campaign seeking a world free from rape and violence.
Linette Vassel has been associated with the struggle for women’s rights in the Caribbean since the 1970s. She was the first coordinator of the Committee of Women for Progress, an activist organisation formed in 1976 which was among the pioneering organisations for the struggle for maternity leave with pay for women.
Thirty years ago, the founders of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women were searching for ways to not only help women across the globe seek justice but also highlight their contributions to churches and the world.
Il y a trente ans, l’équipe fondatrice de la Décennie œcuménique des Églises solidaires des femmes cherchait des moyens non seulement d’aider les femmes de toute la planète à réclamer justice, mais aussi de mettre en exergue ce qu’elles apportaient aux Églises et au monde.
What have we achieved in building a just community of women and men? What must we still do? How can we strengthen ecumenical collaboration in reading the signs of our times in order to map the future direction of our work?
Qu’avons-nous fait concrètement pour construire une communauté juste de femmes et d’hommes? Que devons-nous encore faire? Comment pouvons-nous renforcer la collaboration œcuménique en lisant les signes de notre temps pour dresser la carte de la voie à suivre dans nos travaux?
Rev. Gary Harriott knows there is a problem with violence against women and girls in Jamaica. Each year hundreds of women report having been raped and many more rapes and cases of aggression go unreported. Churches can make a difference by speaking out, he says.
Le pasteur Gary Harriott sait que la violence faite aux femmes et aux filles constitue un problème en Jamaïque. Chaque année, des centaines de femmes portent plainte pour viol, et de nombreux autres viols et agressions ne sont pas déclarés. Les Églises peuvent changer les choses en dénonçant ces actes, affirme-t-il.