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Political commentator Damion Gordon says the government may run the risk of losing the moral authority to speak on issues of violence since it has re-admitted Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Central George Wright into the Jamaica Labour Party.
Mr. Wright resigned from the JLP in 2021 after a video of a man physically assaulting a woman was widely circulated.
But Mr. Wright has never admitted that he was the man in the video.
Speaking Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106 FM, Mr. Gordon said the silence of women parliamentarians on the government side, one of whom has responsibility for gender affairs, indicates complicity.
He explained that the government cannot expect Jamaicans to take them seriously whenever they speak against violent music and producers of violence, based on their handling of the George Wright matter.
"The impression that is being conveyed is that you are enabling a man who viciously abused a woman on record. So again, the optics of that is very difficult to accept that this is a good move by the government and this would resonate well with Jamaicans," he said, adding that the move appears unprincipled and hypocritical.
Mr. Wright and his now wife, Tannisha Singh, both made reports of assault against each other, supposedly arising from the incident.
They later indicated that they did not wish to press charges.
Last weekend, the JLP confirmed the return of the first time MP, citing mitigating actions he had taken to be readmitted to the party.
Political football
But women's rights advocate Dr. Nadeen Spence has accused the People's National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party of playing political football with the issue of violence against women.
Dr. Spence, who was also a guest on the Morning Agenda, said it does not augur well for victims of violence.
"And I don't want to say to those who think that this is a huge political argument, that you shouldn't have it. But find another way to have it that doesn't make this into a conversation about how we score political points," she contended.
At a press conference on Tuesday, hosted by the PNP Women's Movement, representatives said the JLP's decision to readmit George Wright is a betrayal of all women across Jamaica, particularly victims of domestic violence.
In response, the JLP youth arm, Generation 2000, has argued that matters relating to gender-based violence and rehabilitation are far too serious to be addressed in a tribal, politically opportunistic, and hypocritical manner.
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