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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Monday, May 14, 2012

New Bill to Strengthen Protection of Women

New bill to strengthen protection of women

Published: Monday, May 14, 2012

RASHANDA Mc KENNA

RAMONA RAMDIAL

A new Women Rights Bill will strengthen existing laws for the protection of women against sexual abuse and domestic violence. This was revealed by Minister of State in the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Romona Ramdial yesterday in an interview with the T&T Guardian.

Ramdial said the purpose of upgrading the current laws was to strengthen existing legislation and eradicate current flaws within the justice system with regard to the protection of women’s rights. The Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development is the first of its kind in the T&T history and plans are to introduce the new bill in Parliament within the next year.

“For a long time legislation was stagnated due to the fact that the last gender unit was relatively insubstantial,” said Ramdial. She revealed the women’s unit of the Caricom Secretariat has drafted a code for the protection of women based on internationally recognised standards set by the United Nations.

Ramdial hoped this model, first presented by the Dominican Republic, would serve as a pattern for T&T. She highlighted the fact that there are different pieces of legislation under different acts which provide limited redress for women in T&T.
There is no comprehensive laws which covers the scope of women’s rights to deal with all the issues that affect the group, such as sexual, emotional, physical and mental abuse; and other issues referenced on the Domestic Violence Act of 1999 which was amended in 2006.

She suggested that current legal provisions were antiquated and do not address contemporary issues of abuse. Ramdial said specific safety nets such as protection orders are intended to act as barriers against domestic abuse but are not fences made of steel, as certain victims were killed after receiving protection orders in the lower courts.

Ramdial said there was more to be done in terms of conflicting legislation which are hindrances to the intended purpose of the Domestic Violence Act. One such hurdle is Section Two of the Firearms Act of 1979 which prohibits the use of pepper spray she said. Ramdial said in the United States, such actions are legal and regarded as important for women who are allowed to use it to protect themselves.

“These are some of the changes we need in Trinidad,” said Ramdial. She stated the new ministry is seeking to act swiftly to include all of the mechanisms of protection, but the fundamental challenge was gathering the vast body of information to inform the amendments to be made.

Ramdial said the ministry plans to hold inter-ministerial talks with influential persons including Hazel Brown and Margaret Sampson-Brown. She said getting stakeholder consultations with NGOs are underway and have proven to be a major challenge alongside the limited capabilities of related ministries, such as National Security and the Ministry of the People.

Ramdial pointed to recurring inconsistencies within the system which she said are in conflict with and obstruct the roles of ministries. “Protection should be more than just imprisonment for the perpetrators, protection orders and fines,” said Ramdial.

She noted that 13 centres of healing for battered women and children will soon be established country-wide and will be used as rehabilitation homes and institutes of healing. The ministry is currently in talks with the family court in an effort to identify land for this purpose so that construction can begin by the end of 2013.

Ramdial noted that funding will be disbursed by the Finance Ministry’s Public Sector Improvement Programme although feasibility studies are not yet completed.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-05-14/new-bill-strengthen-protection-women

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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.