Press Release: Department of Gender Affairs

The Ministry of Social Services, Gender Affairs and Community Development wishes to document its deep sadness on learning of the double homicide of two young women from Keys Village on Thursday, March 1st. The Department was recently informed that sisters Jammyliah Finch (aged 21 years) and Nyomi Finch (age 18 years) were attacked by a 35 year-old male with whom Nyomi Finch may have been romantically involved.
A spokesman for the Ministry noted that the deaths of these two young women are apparently the result of gender-based violence, which the Ministry fully condemns.
‘The Ministry, in particular the Department of Gender Affairs, wishes to admonish the public that domestic and gender-based violence can never be the solution to handling conflict. Our people need to be more tolerant of each other, practice emotional maturity, and learn to exercise restraint instead of yielding to the urge to become violent when conflicts arise,’ the spokesperson stated.
The Ministry also noted that news of the death of Jammyliah Finch will be particularly difficult for the staff of the Ministry as she is a former resident of the New Horizons Rehabilitation Centre and would have done much to improve herself via attendance at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and subsequently joined the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force. She was also a young mother who had recently given birth.
Staff of the Department of Gender Affairs and the Counselling Unit within the Ministry will be conducting visits to the victims’ families, with a view to commencing counselling and grief support services at this difficult time. Outreach will also be made to the family of the alleged assailant.
The Ministry extends sincere condolences to the families of Jammyliah and Nyomi Finch