Jamaica Constabulary Force Statistics and Information Management Unit data covering 2014 to 2018 shows that fewer persons are coming forward to report cases of incest.
If a stepfather, however, has intercourse with his underage stepdaughter, it is instead listed as sexual intercourse with a person under 16 or rape. The Sexual Offences Act states that incest is committed by a male or female who willingly has sexual intercourse with another person, knowing that the other person is related by whole blood or half blood. Incest, or ‘family ram’, is an issue that persons still dare not talk about openly in Jamaica and it is for this reason that the most vulnerable appear to not be receiving the help they deserve, experts say.
