The disturbing issue of violence and sexual assault against women in the dancehall fraternity has been highlighted in recent times. Tanya Stephens got the conversation started when she reshared that she was sexually assaulted by a well-known Jamaican artist.
Soon after that, Etana also reportedly revealed that she was in a dangerous situation after being sexually harassed by an artist who tried to trap her by inviting her to look at his new home studio. Not too long after that veteran, Macka Diamond, revealed that she was allegedly brutally beaten with a board by a dancehall artist at a studio complex.
While these are all harrowing tales of what women in the industry endure, Macka Diamond believes that the focus of these stories should not be on who committed the act but the fact that abuse of this nature is ongoing in the industry. She believes that it is time to end this type of senseless abuse.
According to her story, she was in her early 20s and was not even known as Macka Diamond as yet but by her old moniker, Lady Mackerel, when the incident occurred. She spoke with the STAR about what she believes needs to be done and how these stories can bring a much-needed change to the male-dominated genre.
She called on people to stop questioning who perpetrated the act and instead use the impetus to come together to help and console women. She said the focus should be on helping women get through this kind of trauma.
“We nah talk bout lock up nobody, find nobody, beat dem up or shoot dem. We want fi find a way where the women can come together and we talk about it on a year-to-year basis or whatever we wanna do and be there for each other,” she shared.
The “Bun Him” singer has many years in the business and shared another incident about the type of mental and physical abuse that she’s had to endure. She shared that at one point, a promoter in another Caribbean island pointed a gun to her face.
She said that this is just one of the many examples of the abuse that women have to constantly endure. She said the women who are abused don’t care about their abuser, but they care more about finding a way out of the situation.
“We don’t care who is doing it. We just want to be able to know that they have to look at us different in this business as women with more respect and love because there’s a lot and we’re afraid to talk,” she added.
The artist continued on to say that she was happy that her story had been highlighted since she felt relieved. She did admit, however, that she was a bit hesitant at first because she was not sure if the artist would have contacted her to say something negative.
Macka Diamond added that while she was worried about his response, cash offers had been coming in for her to reveal who the artist who hit her is.
The “Dye Dye” singer once again reiterated her point that it’s not about the abuser but about the support for other women who may be facing similar circumstances. She said her goal was also to show Tanya Stephens support.
“I want to thank her because I didn’t know seh no other artiste woulda put them hand pon a female, I thought it was just me alone. Even if it’s not sexual, I got hit by someone, she got hit by someone too. I thought her life was okay,” she said.
Macka Diamond also kept the same energy with her fans as she posted a similar message on Instagram explaining that her position is that women need help and not abusers. It doesn’t matter who is committing the abuse.
