PNP Women’s Movement calls for psycho-social support for Shani Coke’s family

The PNP Women’s Movement is deeply concerned at the news of the gruesome and barbaric murder of 10-year-old Shani Coke of Troy District, in the parish of Trelawny.  This should never be the fate of any other child. We must stop the abuse and murder of our children. 

 

We extend sincere condolences to her parents, family, friends and community members. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this extremely difficult time.  We know that this loss is unimaginable. 

 

Shaneen Roberts, Vice President of the Movement with responsibility for Trelawny said “The people of Troy and the wider Trelawny have been rocked by this incident. We must stand with them as we navigate this time of extreme grief”. 

 

In keeping with the call of our Party’s Chairperson, Dr Angela Brown-Burke made at our Annual Women’s Conference on Sunday, we ask that psycho-social services be immediately provided to her family and members of the community. '

 

It is unfortunate that the community resorted to ‘jungle justice’ in response.  As a country we need to do more to gain the confidence of the population so that they will know that justice will prevail and swiftly without having to take things into their own hands.

 

We also need to examine and strengthen our resolve to create safe communities for our children.  A UNICEF survey done in 2023 indicates that 23.7% of our girls and 11.7% of our boys experience sexual violence as children.   This must be a turning point.  

 

We do not want another family to be made to grieve the loss of a child in such violent circumstances.