Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the society will have to find consensus on how to deal with the regulation of music if it is proven that it contributes to violence.
Holness, speaking at the Office of the National Security Advisor's National Security Seminar, held at the AC Marriott Hotel on Thursday, said that there needs to be a national consensus on how the country deals with violence.
"It is a different consensus that needs to be built from the consensus on how we treat with crime, but it is all a part of this grand strategy of making Jamaica a safer and more secure society," the prime minister said.
He listed areas such as domestic, state and intimate partner violence as areas of concern in the country.
"Does music promote violence?" Holness asked during his address. "As a society, how do we enter upon the regulation of it?" he continued.
Holness has long argued that there is a clear link between violence in the society and the country's dominant musical genre, dancehall. In March, he used the floor of Parliament to lash aspects of the country's popular culture that he says are contributing to the high levels of violence in the country.
"In our music and our culture, in as much as you are free to reflect what is happening in the society, you also have a duty to place it in context," Holness said.
"Dat yuh tek up the AK-47 and tun it inna a man head ... That is not right. And though you have the protection of the constitution to sing about it, you also have a duty to the children who are listening to you."
On Thursday, Holness said that the National Commission on Violence Prevention has been charged with the responsibility of guiding the society towards consensus on tackling violence.
"I have been speaking about a ban on corporal punishment generally ... we haven't acted on it because we want to get the full benefit of the impact from an academic study to guide the conversation nationally so that we can reach to this consensus," Holness said.
He also raised the issue of intimate partner violence, which he notes continues to be a problem in the society.
"There are still people who feel that it is a normal part of man and woman business. How are we going to change this culture and mentality?" he questioned.
