Brutal Family Violence Case

Woman chopped, in critical condition

By RALPH BANWARIE Monday, November 14 2011

Quick response from neighbours, drawn by the agony and cry for help from a defenceless Sangre Grande housewife, saved her from being chopped to death.

The 35-year-old housewife is warded in critical condition at the Sangre Grande District Hospital after being chopped about her body by a male relative.

Sandra Harrilal, of Blake Avenue, Foster Road, Sangre Grande, is warded in critical condition at Sangre Grande Hospital.

The cutlass attack victim had her five fingers severed in addition to being chopped on her head, back and chest. Police reported that about 2 am on Saturday, Harrilal was at her Blake avenue home asleep on her bed when she was awakened by a relative, who was armed with a cutlass, shouting at the top of his voice, “I will kill you tonight.”

Before she could respond, or make her escape from her bed, the relative immediately raised his cutlass and began firing chops at Harrilal.

The last chop was fired at her neck, and in defence Harrilal raised her left hand to block the cutlass from striking her neck.

During the struggle she screamed out “help me” to her neighbours, who came to her assistance, but the husband jumped through the window and ran into the bushes.

The neighbours then called the police and an EHS ambulance.

A party of police officers from Sangre Grande CID rushed to the scene at Blake Avenue, where they discovered Harrilal lying in blood on her bed with her five left fingers severed.

The male relative was held and is expected to appear before a Sangre Grande magistrate today.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,150598.html

Domestic Violece Ripples into The Workplace

Cops rescue kidnapped teacher

By Cecily Asson Friday, November 11 2011

Police officers rescued a 20-year-old female school teacher who according to investigators was kidnapped by an estranged boyfriend outside her Point Fortin workplace on Wednesday.

A 21-year-old Princes Town labourer has since been arrested and charged with kidnapping. He appeared before a magistrate in the Point Fortin Court yesterday and is expected to re-appear in court on November 24.

At about 2 pm, the Barrackpore school teacher was about to get into a car at the Fanny Village Government Primary School when she was snatched by a man with whom she ended a relationship six months ago and bundled into a black Nissan Sunny car he was driving.

He sped off with the woman in the car. A witness to the incident made a report to the Point Fortin Police Station and an All Points Bulletin was issued.

The suspect was held following a high speed chase through Point Fortin.

A party of officers led by Cpl Richardson and including PCs Bhajan, Martin, Ramnarine and Homer intercepted the car in the Petrotrin Oilfield Road, Point Fortin and rescued the teacher. She was unharmed, police said. The man was taken into custody and charged with the offence of kidnapping.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,150403.html

The Pain of Family Violece Lingers One

Man kills wife by slashing her throat

By JADA LOUTOO Wednesday, November 9 2011

IN HAPPIER TIMES: Murder victim Shalima Mohammed, and her husband, Fazal.

A DAUGHTER yesterday began her testimony against her father as he sat in the prisoner’s docks in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Criminal Court, charged with killing his wife, seven years ago.

Fareeda Mohammed, at the start of her testimony, was asked by prosecutor Brent Winter to point out her father in the courtroom.

Mohammed’s father Fazal, 57, is before Justice Devan Rampersad, charged with the murder of his wife, Shalima Mohammed, 47, on November 6, 2004.

It is the prosecution’s case that after two days of quarrelling, Fazal Mohammed slashed his wife’s throat in their bedroom.

The couple lived at LP 231, Chin Chin Road, Las Lomas No 1, with their six children. Fareeda, according to Winter, was in the living room with her younger sister, Farisha — who celebrated her tenth birthday the day before — watching television when she heard her mother cry out, “Like you come to kill me now?”

Winter said the two girls ran to the home of their aunt Nisha Badal, who returned to the house with her nieces. There they saw Mohammed standing in front of the door, before he walked off. Shalima’s body was found lying face down on her bed with a sheet over her.

Her clothing and the bed clothes were drenched in blood.

Winter told the jury, on November 7, a search party went looking for Fazal. He was eventually spotted in some bushes in the Las Lomas No 1 area, but he ran off. He was eventually held and taken to the Cunupia Police Station. Winter said Fazal, in a statement allegedly given to police, admitted that he slapped his wife once or twice before he pulled a knife on her. He allegedly said he swung the knife in a rage and when he saw blood, he ran. He also complained that she had gone to the police.

An autopsy performed by pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes said Shalima was stabbed in the shoulder and abdomen and had been slashed three times across the neck. She also had defensive wounds on both hands.

Mohammed was charged by Sgt Danny Ramlogan. Testifying yesterday, Fareeda, 26, said she lived with her parents, her three brothers and two sisters.

She said on the Friday evening, the family were preparing to go to mosque, as they were observing the Islamic month of Ramadhan, when her parents were quarrelling.

She said her mother stopped a police vehicle which was passing and the officers spoke to her parents.

The argument continued at the mosque. Family members, she said, intervened and after they returned home, her mother’s sisters, Rasheeda, Yasmin and Neisha and their husbands, came home. The couple was still quarrelling and Fareeda said her mother began to pack her clothes to leave. As her mother was doing so, her father was unpacking the clothes, she testified.

She said her father said his wife could not leave and “ran everyone who was there.” On the Saturday, she said her parents left for work, and after they returned home later that evening they again left to go to the mosque.

She said she and her sister were on the couch in the living room watching television when their parents returned home. Her mother, she said, ate the food she brought, and then went to her bedroom. Fareeda will return to court today to continue her evidence.

Also testifying yesterday were retired police photographer Brenton Mack and police draughtsman Sgt Gregory Hood.

Collin Selvon and Kenya Murray are defending Fazal, while Shelly Ann Gajadhar is also appearing with Winter for the prosecution.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,150284.html

Cops pray for kidnap victim

Cops pray for kidnap victim

By Anna-Lisa Paul Monday, November 7 2011

Police officers began their search for kidnap victim Christine Williams with a prayer before setting off from the Tunapuna Police Station into the foothills of the Northern Range at noon yesterday.

Hours later, the search had to be called off when an officer from the Inter Agency Task Force developed a leg cramp and had to be airlifted to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for treatment.

Senior officials said the officer was treated and discharged and the search for Williams will resume this morning.

Williams, a mother of two girls, Iyoka, five, and Sapphire, three, was taken from her home at First Trace, Maingot Road, Tunapuna at about 8.45 am on Saturday.

Williams, who is unemployed, was dragged from her home and beaten with a gun by the 24-year- old suspect before he disappeared with her in the forest.

The suspect also lives at First Trace, Maingot Road, Tunapuna.

It is reported that Williams was taken into a forested area located off St Michael’s Road, Tunapuna where the suspect is believed to have a marijuana plantation.

Although several searches were carried out on Saturday, officers were not successful in locating either Williams or her kidnapper.

The search resumed at about midday yesterday and ended at about 4 pm, when an officer suffered a severe cramp.

More than 40 officers from the North Eastern Division Task Force, the Tunapuna CID, the Anti- Kidnapping Squad, the Special Anti-Crime Unit, the Inter Agency Task Force, the Canine Unit and the National Security Operations Centre took part in the exercise.

Praying for Williams’s safe return yesterday before they set off on the four-hour exercise, officers were briefed at the Tunapuna Police Station and warned that the suspect was armed and dangerous.

Newsday understands the suspect had been previously charged with shooting a police officer who was on patrol along First Trace, Maingot Road, Tunapuna back in 2007.

Among the areas searched yesterday were First Trace, Maingot Road, Tunapuna, St Michael’s Road, Tunapuna and St John’s Road, St Augustine.

An officer said residents in these areas “were cooperative and alert and promised to contact us if they hear anything.”

However, the police vowed to increase patrols last night as they believed the suspect would attempt to obtain food and water “under the cover of darkness.”

When Newsday visited the area yesterday, residents were reluctant to talk.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Williams’s mother Beulah John said while she was not at home when her daughter was taken, she was informed by witnesses to the abduction that Williams had been fighting and screaming for help.

John said the suspect “put the gun to her head and forced her to go with him.”

Pointing to Williams’s two daughters who were playing, unaware of the fate that had befallen their mother, John said, “I am hoping she is alive. I don’t care about what happens to him (suspect). I just want the police to bring back my child safe. She has two children and I don’t know how I will cope.”

Worried that her daughter might be starved of food and water, John wept as she revealed Williams and the suspect ended a relationship several years ago.

“But he (suspect) kept harassing her and although she reported him to the police and had several restraining orders against him, he always kept coming for her,” John said.

John said most of the villagers knew of the stormy relationship between Williams and the suspect. She claimed the suspect was even beaten by angry villagers, hoping he would be cowered into leaving Williams alone.

Looking skyward, John said, “I am praying to the good Lord to bring my daughter back and I am hoping she comes back safe.”

Senior officials from the North Eastern Division assured the search for Williams will resume this morning and it is expected that more officers will join the rescue teams.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,150187.html

Domestic Violece Takes Many Forms

Mother abducted in presence of her children

Injured, dragged barefoot into a forest...

By Akile Simon

Story Created: Nov 6, 2011 at 2:34 AM ECT

Story Updated: Nov 6, 2011 at 2:34 AM ECT 

 

POLICE have launched a search for a man who at gunpoint yesterday kidnapped a 21-year-old mother in the presence of two children—Iyoka, five, and Sapphire Williams, three—at their First Trace, Maingot Road, Tunapuna, home.

COMFORTED: Beulah John hugs her granddaughters Iyoka

and Sapphire Williams outside her First Trace, Maingot Road,

Tunapuna, home yesterday. —Photo: AKILE SIMON

The victim has been identified as Christine Williams and is said to be injured after being dragged barefoot, miles into a forest, where she is being kept against her will by the suspect who is a close relative.
Up to late yesterday, a contingent of police officers from the Northern Division Task Force, CID, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) and Police Canine Unit, were combing the forest off St John's Road.
Beulah John, Williams' mother, made a tearful plea for the safe release of her daughter.
She said the suspect had been harassing and intimidating her daughter with a firearm.
Williams, John said, also had several restraining orders against the suspect who defied each order of the court. John, a mother of three girls and two boys, spoke with the Sunday Express outside her home.
John was sitting on a piece of concrete with her grandchildren, outside her home which is on a hill, looking at police operations in the distance as the search for her daughter intensified.
She said at the time of the incident, she was at a job site when she received a call from a relative who told her the suspect had entered her home and dragged Williams out at gunpoint.
John said, "I left immediately and came up and when I did that I saw my grandchildren in the road. Up to now I haven't seen my child so I praying to God that he don't harm my child and do nothing to her because we hear he have a gun. This is not the first time because he has been tormenting her life right through but he had eased up after the men in the area beat him."
"All them boys up here afraid of him because he was up the hill with the gun and they can't do him nothing because he have this gun. They afraid and they had to let him walk and go with my child, but if he didn't have the gun they might have tried to intervene. So I don't know which part in the bush or in the mountain he is with my child but I praying to God that I get back my child safe because she has her two children to take care of," John said.
Residents in the area also told the Sunday Express that they were fed up of the suspect tormenting their lives. They accused the man of chasing residents and threatening them with a gun. They said he had served a jail sentence for shooting a police officer in the leg in the area several years ago.
Yesterday's incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. while Williams was at her one-bedroom home with her daughters.
After a report was made to the police, Northern Division Task Force and CID officers responded and went in search of the suspect and victim.
Police said while passing a river in the forest, they were told by bathers that they saw the suspect with a gun ordering Williams to walk.
Officers said for several hours they conducted extensive searches in the forest, including at an abandoned coffee house where the suspect is known to hide out, but there was no sign of him or Williams.
Snr Supt David Abraham, ASP Nazrool Hosein, Cpl Bernard and PC Pereira of the Tunapuna CID were among the officers who visited the scene.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Mother_abducted_in_presence_of_her_children-133313473.html

Family Violence Takes to the Streets

 

 

 

Man beaten, chopped

BEATEN AND CHOPPED: 

Timothy Bell and his fiancé Elizabeth Joseph. 

Bell was beaten and chopped at 

Derry Lane, Mc Bean Village, Couva.

He died at hospital hours later.

BY STACY MOORE Monday, October 31 2011

A FEUD between two families in Couva ended tragically Saturday night when a 26-year-old man was killed.

Timothy Bell was badly beaten and chopped at Derry Lane, Mc Bean Village, at about 9.30 pm. He died yesterday morning at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) while undergoing surgery. Police have arrested a father, his son, a nephew and a son-in-law. The four were up to last evening in police custody.

Villagers told Newsday that the killing stemmed from ongoing tensions between two families on Derry Lane. They said the two families have been cursing each other for some time. Members of one family accused the other family of starting the feud.

Bell, who is originally from San Juan, recently met a girl from Derry Lane and the two were engaged. About five months ago he moved into the girl’s parents home at Derry Lane.

Bell was attacked and killed on the road.

Bell’s fiance’s brother Matthew Joseph told Newsday, members of the other family were making allegations against Bell and other relatives. “They would always say we staring at their house. They always throwing talk for us. We go about our own business, but they keep saying we looking at their house,” Joseph said.

Police said at about 9.30 pm on Saturday, members of both families began to curse and verbally abuse each other. The quarrel escalated onto the road, where a fist fight erupted. Bell and a 55- year-old man were said to be fighting on the road, when members of one family drew cutlasses and pieces of iron.

Bell was beaten and chopped.

Joseph said, “They beat him till his face turned blue black, and his eyes swell. And even when he fell on the ground unconscious, they just continued to chop him on his head as he was on the ground bleeding. It was when he get the blow to the head, he fell on the ground.”

He said he ran to Bell’s rescue, but was struck on the leg with a piece of iron..

Police arrived on the scene and took Bell to the Couva District Health Facility where he was treated and transferred to the Port-of- Spain General Hospital.

A member of the other family involved in the dispute, Anjanne Bowlah said Bell was the aggressor and that her relatives were only defending themselves. She admitted that there had been an ongoing feud, saying, “Bell recently come to live in this community, and he always looking across our wall.”

The Bowlah family members, who are proprietors of a construction business, told Newsday they made several reports with at the Couva Police Station regarding Bell’s threats and his suspicious activities in and around their home.

An autopsy on Bell’s body will be performed today at the Forensic Science Centre, Port-of-Spain. PC Kyrn Lewis is investigating.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,149787.html

Your Voice Matters

Lily Tomlin said: "I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. Then I realized, I was somebody." Made me think are you going to be somebody that will step up and take a stand against family violence. Join the Dragonfly Centre mailing list.  Have an idea, story  and or comment  we want to hear from you send to dragonflyhelpertt@yahoo.com. We want to hear from you. Your voice matters.

Daughter accused of stabbing dad remanded in custody

Trinidad and Tobago Newsday: 
Daughter accused of stabbing dad remanded in custody

By AZARD ALI Wednesday, October 26 2011

CHARGED with stabbing her father in the buttocks on Sunday, Tricia Shah was yesterday denied bail and remanded into custody by a magistrate in San Fernando.

Tricia, 29, appeared in court following arrest at her home on Commission Street, Mon Repos, San Fernando, by police officers acting on a report made by Tricia’s father, Nizam. Yesterday. Tricia was escorted by two female police officers at about 1.15 pm into the Sixth magistrates’ court where she appeared before magistrate Rehana Hosein.

The charge was read to Tricia, a former registered nurse, that on Sunday she maliciously wounded Nizam, at their home. The charge stemmed from an incident in which an argument ensued between the father and daughter, during which the accused stabbed Shah in the buttocks.

Yesterday, attorney Carol Cuffy-Dowlat represented Tricia, whom she said was a former registered nurse.

The attorney asked for bail to be granted, but she also told the magistrate that the father, who had sought medical treatment for the injury, was concerned about his daughter.

Cuffy-Dowlat said that she was of the view that the accused daughter was in need of medical treatment for what seemed as a possible abuse of drugs.

Suggestions that Shah should perhaps stay at the Piparo Empowerment Centre, was made by the attorney, but the police court prosecutor Sgt Dwight Hall, told the magistrate that he was concerned about the accused being free to roam. “If she is in need of treatment, it might be more appropriate to have her incarcerated somewhere,” Halls told Hosein.

Cuffy-Dowlat and Halls, agreed that Tricia be remanded into custody at St Anns Hospital, where she is to be treated appropriately, and to re-appear on November 8. 

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,149563.html

'Rise in domestic violence during SoE was predictable'

Trinidad Express Newspaper: 

'Rise in domestic violence during SoE was predictable'

By Kim Boodram

Story Created: Sep 11, 2011 at 9:46 PM ECT

Story Updated: Sep 11, 2011 at 9:46 PM ECT

Women and children's affairs activist, Hazel Brown, said she was shocked that local authorities on domestic violence did not forsee a rise in this activity when a State of Emergency was declared by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on August 20.
Brown said in an interview Saturday there were people in authority who should have known that the home is one of the least safe places for women and children in Trinidad and Tobago society.
Since the start of the SoE, three women and one man have been killed in domestic disputes.
On August 25, Kareem Alexander, 28, of Connector Road, Felicity, Chaguanas, was stabbed in the back by a female relative during an argument at his home. He died at the Chaguanas Health Facility.
On August 31, Carol Walcott was found dead at her home at Demerara Heights, Arima. She was lying face down on her bed, blood oozing from her mouth. An autopsy revealed that she died from blunt force trauma to the head but her death remains inconclusive.
On September 3, Karensa Diamond was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by her boyfriend, Nigel Castillo, who later committed suicide.
On September 6, Felicia Samsundar, 22, of Hermitage Village, Macaulay, was beaten and strangled to death with a telephone charger during a domestic dispute at a guest house in Tobago.
On September 9, Sohanie Ramsundar, 37, a mother of four was found with her throat slit. Her death is also being treated as a domestic matter.
The SOE came with a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew until last Monday, when it was changed to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., with an SoE extension of three months.
"One of the justification for the State of Emergency, given by people who should know better, is that it would improve family life by having men stay at home," said Brown, Co-ordinator of the Network of Non-governmental Organisations.
"There is a total lack of thinking when they make these statements.
"I wonder if they haven't been told that the most unsafe place for women and children is the home. But we don't, as a society, place importance on women and children and we do not treat domestic violence as a crime. If it does not involve robbery and so on, we do not see it as a crime." Brown said it was another unfortunate fact that "nothing will be learned" from the incidents during this period.
"Anything that requires the perpetrators of crimes to spend more time at home is a recipe for what we are seeing," she added.
"And not all are reported, not when there are more important things like guns to put in the papers."
Brown said there continues to be nothing but "pronouncements" on the issue of domestic violence, without any real action to mitigate existing situations and prevent further abuse from developing. Families are not being offered the opportunities to learn the art of negotiation and mediation, she said, so that they can diffuse tension in the home and hopefully prevent violence.
"If you can't walk away, what do you do? Most of the time, it is 'I want something and you want something else', so how do you find the middle ground? Some people have to be taught how to do that," Brown said.
"When you talk about domestic violence, it should also be about helping people to develop those skills of negotiation."
There is also a lack of intervention by other individuals because communities are no longer empowered like they used to be.
There are still some pockets around the country where small communities are empowered in that way and still consult one another on domestic and community issues but this is mostly a lost tradition," Brown said.
"In order for someone to intervene, you have to know what you are doing," she said.
Brown added:
"The people who shocked me the most were the so-called psychiatrists who made statements about the curfew improving family life. Unless they have done something about remedying the domestic violence situation that we don't know about."

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_Rise_in_domestic_violence_during_SoE_was_predictable_-129628428.html

Too many, too often

Psychologist: Almost half of T&T's women in abusive relationships

By Sue-Ann Wayow sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com

Story Created: Oct 2, 2011 at 1:49 AM ECT
Story Updated: Oct 2, 2011 at 1:49 AM ECT

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Psychologist Brenda Jeffers stands next to her poster which was voted as the best by attendees at the recently held Institute of Violence, Abuse and Trauma 16th international conference at San Diego, California, USA.

 

ALMOST half of the nation's women, rich and poor, who are involved in intimate relationships, are being abused, according to a study done by clinical psychologist Brenda Jeffers.
And many do not even know that they are victims, said Jeffers.
The study, completed in 2008, showed that the women interviewed suffered from physical, physiological and sexual abuse.
Jeffers is the clinical director of the Piparo Empowerment Centre that assists people dealing with substance abuse and addictions.
Jeffers was accepted along with her co-author and supervisor Professor Dr Gerard Hutchinson to participate at the 16th International Conference on Violence, Abuse & Trauma held at Alliant International University, San Diego, California, last month.
Jeffers won the People's Choice Award for the poster that she presented.
The study: "Battered Women in Trinidad: A Survey of Intimate Partner Violence," was the first study of its kind undertaken locally.
The findings presented had been undertaken as a research project for the requirements for the Masters degree in Clinical Psychology, which Jeffers completed in 2008. This Masters programme was recently introduced at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies.
Jeffers said she developed an interest in understanding the various dimensions of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Trinidad population because of the often reported incidents of IPV.
The study surveyed two groups of women, samples of women from the prison and battered-women shelters, and the general community.
Jeffers said 46 per cent of the women interviewed from the community were considered to be battered.
She said, "I think that culturally we are a nation that generally tolerates abuse. When I say tolerate the abuse, some of the women are not even aware that they are abused. For instance psychological abuse is abuse; they don't classify a man controlling and telling you how to think and how to behave as abuse. They see it as alright that the man's wish is at my command, and even sexually."
She said, "A lot of women are abused sexually within the intimate relationship and they don't classify it as abuse. The man does abusive things."
Jeffers said battered women suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria, sexual and intimacy problems, difficulties with body image and disrupted interpersonal relationships.
She said IPV needed to be recognised as a major problem in this country as it was internationally and more research was needed in the field.
"We need to see culturally what is needed in Trinidad as opposed to what the abuse might be like in the US so that we could treat the women better."
Jeffers said, "For instance a woman might go to the hospital for a broken arm. We need to have proper screening to find out if that was a result of abuse and help her to escape that relationship or escape that situation or deal with it in a positive way."
She said women also needed to be educated about what a healthy relationship should be, hence the need for the research.
Jeffers said she had plans to do additional research "so that the appropriate intervention strategies can be developed".

 Source:  http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Too_many__too_often-130927963.html

A Little Background…

In 2007 I was introduced to the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a beautiful tropical country located in the southern most part of the Caribbean archipelago. However, the opportunity to travel to this part of the world would not present itself until March of 2009. It was an incredible experience to be able to visit a country where I had never been before and I literally knew no-one. I had the privilege to experience a new culture and meet many wonderful people who made my trip an amazing experience. Although the purpose of my visit was recreational, something happened that changed all of that. One evening while on a hike with my tour guide and one of the locals at The ASA Wright Nature Centre, one of the men asked me where I was from and what I did for a living. It was at that moment that I disclosed that I was a Domestic Violence Advocate. He paused, looked at me and replied,… “we need you here”.  At that moment I did not fully understand what he meant or how I could help.

A few days after this I visited one of the local court houses to learn about how someone could obtain a protection order. What I discovered disturbed me greatly, to say the least. The process by which abused individuals could obtain legal protections left much to be desired. This sparked grave concern for victims coupled with a desire to learn more about the local system and services. After I finished my travels all I could think about was the need of the people in Trinidad and Tobago. It was shortly after my return to the United States that the Dragonfly Centre for Women’s Empowerment and Transformation began to take form. While completing my Bachelors degree at Evergreen College, I developed an Individual Learning Contract entitled “Domestic Violence in Trinidad and Tobago” and was awarded The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. This allowed me to return to Trinidad and Tobago for my final quarter at the end of December of 2009 for my nine week study. My focus was on services addressing domestic violence. What I came away with was the echoing cries for help by the people who freely shared their personal views and stories. Although I wasn’t quite sure what, I knew I had to do something. As a consequence, it was these cries that gave birth to and helped shape the Dragonfly Centre to be what it is, a multifaceted institution with a focus on public education, shaping public policy and providing direct victim friendly services to support families dealing with domestic violence.

Violence against children

Violence against children

By VERDEL BISHOP Monday, October 10 2011

Violence against children is one of the most serious issues affecting young people today. A UNICEF study defines violence as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, that results or is likely to result in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation.

According to a publication of the United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, which highlighted the scale of the problem and its devastating consequences, 80,000 children die annually in Latin American and the Caribbean as a consequence of domestic violence. The 2006 report states that many children are daily exposed to physical, sexual and psychological violence in their homes and schools, in the protection and justice systems, in the workplaces and in their communities, causing devastating consequences for their health and welfare.

The study reported that every day, in every country, girls and boys suffer and witness violence. Violence against children cuts across boundaries of culture, class, education, income and ethnic origin, and occurs in many different settings. Some of it is allowed by national laws and may be rooted in cultural, economic and social practices.

Recently, leaders of religious coordination bodies (RBCs) and national inter-religious councils/organisations in the Caribbean, representatives of Religions for Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean, UNICEF and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), as well as experts addressed the issue of violence against children at the Third Meeting of the Caribbean Inter-Religious Network – Religions for Peace and the Training Workshop for National Inter-Religious Councils in the Caribbean.Using the guide “From commitment to action: What religious communities can do to eliminate violence against children” as study material, participants were trained to identify the context or environment of the problem, analyse their causes, factors and consequences, define operational objectives and required actions, know available means, techniques and resources, and establish expected goals and achievements.

During her address, Vice-President of the Senate Lyndira Oudit said every act of violence against a child is an act against every human and spiritual law that governs us all. She said violence, especially against those unable to defend themselves must never bee seen as merely abstract or philosophical.

She noted that if we are to truly address the question of violence against children, there must be a connection between peace and the establishment of a protocol of peace and the connection between poverty, deprivation, violence and peace for all our human family, especially for children.

Oudit said; “For many, peace begins with food, water, shelter and health care. Violence often accompanies a lack of these essentials. For some people, peace begins with education and employment, very often violence is the result of inadequate or inappropriate learning. Peace is a safe home and loving hands that protect our children.”

She continued, “It is the right of our society to protect and support the common good; our children are our common good. We as pastors, imams, pundits and other religious leaders...we do have a God-given opportunity, a God-given responsibility to shape and fashion family life and above all the centre of family–the formation of our children.”

Oudit said as this country prepares itself to face significant global, economic and social changes, rapid technological and demographic restructuring, a new approach to societal violence is needed.

“We can no longer accept the idea of individualism, either of person or country. We are part of a global network that forces us towards active participation in generation solutions to problems that we, as global residents have created,” Oudit said.

She noted that religion is a crucial channel through which the cords of social need and social solution must pass.

First-vice president of the IRO and Anglican priest, Canon Knolly Clarke said prevalence of abuse and violence usually starts in the home. He noted, quoting from an Ashanti proverb that the ruin of a nation begins in the home. He went on to explain that family life is crucial to child development and formation.

Clarke said religious leaders were blessed with the opportunity to play an instrumental role in a child’s life until adulthood.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,148690.html