Dragonfly Centre: Victim Support Unit chair: More networking needed to fight domestic violence

Mission

Non-Profit, 501(c)(3)

Mission: The Dragonfly Centre is committed to the elimination of domestic violence against women and their children by providing victim friendly services that promotes the empowerment of survivors; through advocacy, public awareness and education and community based initiatives.

Vision: The Dragonfly Centre envisions a world free of violence against women and their children and social justice for all. We are founded on the vision and belief that every person has the right to live in a safe environment free from violence and the fear of violence and strive to work collaboratively with the community to provide victim friendly services to support domestic violence victims, survivors to the stage of thriving.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Victim Support Unit chair: More networking needed to fight domestic violence

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2012

Geisha Kowlessar

Chairman of the Victim Support Unit of the Ministry of

National Security, Margaret Sampson-Browne, right,

receives the Woman of the Year award from Scotiabank’s

Marketing Department representative Cheryl Hernandez,

at the offices of ASPIRE in Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

At left is ASPIRE chairman Lynette Seebaran Suite.

PHOTO: NICOLE DRAYTON

There has been a resounding call by Margaret Sampson-Browne, chairman of the Victim and Witness Support Unit to implement sufficient networking and resources to tackle the scourge of domestic violence. Sampson-Browne, a retired Assistant Police Commissioner in charge of Community Relations, was awarded woman of the year during yesterday’s launch of Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive (ASPIRE) Research Findings and Woman of the Year Award held in Port-of-Spain.

She also called on police officers to effectively and efficiently put their training to use as their role was also instrumental in the fight against domestic violence. Asked if she believed there had been sufficient efforts on the part of various stakeholders during the last ten years in which, according to statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Unit (CAPA), there has been a steady rise in domestic violence, Sampson-Browne said this “was lacking”.

“Some of us didn’t act fast enough, we didn’t have the networking enough, the networking system wasn’t effective enough. “I wouldn’t say there has been a shortfall. What I am saying is there must be sufficient networking and resources,” Sampson-Browne said. Praising the efforts of the Police Service she said there was “tumultuous training” taking place to increase the capabilities of police officers as it related to domestic violence matters.

Asked whether there was a shortfall as it related to the implementation of such training, Sampson-Browne cited this as a management issue. “My managers need to understand their role in the police station to really enforce the kind of functioning that is required for communities.

“It is not acceptable that someone goes to a police station and someone refuses them or put them out. There are sergeants and inspectors at these police stations and they need to understand their roles and responsibilities and there may be a time where the executives need to pull the strings of those managers a bit,” Sampson-Browne said.

For the period 2010 to 2011, there were 11,984 new cases of domestic violence cases filed in the Magistrates Court according to statistics provided by the Family Court for August 2010 to July 2011. For the same period 12,031 cases were decided, A breakdown of data according to different divisions revealed that in 2010 Central and Southern Divisions recorded the highest incidence of domestic violence offences with figures of 301 and 493 respectively.

For 2010 Southern Division recorded the highest figure with 677 reports, but Northern Division recorded the second highest with 340 incidents. With was followed by Central Division with 320 reports and South Western Division with 300 reported matters. For the period 2001 to 2011 there were 92,524 new cases filed in the Magistrates Court relating to domestic violence.

The same period revealed that 90,327 cases were decided. The majority of these cases were applications for and variance of protection orders. The numbers also reflected the dismissal of applications for protection orders, assaults and other forms of abuse as defined under the Domestic Violence Act, the data stated.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-03-15/victim-support-unit-chair-more-networking-needed-fight-domestic-violence

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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.