By Rachael Espinet Friday, June 7 2013
Murder
victim Rehanna Ali and women who have been battered, as she was for
eight years, are the slaves of abusive men, chairman of the Coalition
Against Domestic Violence (CADV), Diana Mahabir-Wyatt declared
yesterday, in the aftermath of the chopping death of the 29-year-old
woman.
Mahabir-Wyatt describes the treatment
of Ali, and others in her situation, as a form of slavery which is what
barred her from leaving her abuser.
“She was under his control,” Mahabir-Wyatt said. “It is also human trafficking — internal human trafficking. She was his slave. She was living with him voluntarily, but she was under duress.”
Ali was found chopped to death on Tuesday at her Siparia home, allegedly at the hands of a man with whom she shared an eight-year-long relationship.
The 48-year-old suspect was yesterday released from police custody pending further enquiries, investigators told Newsday.
Only days before, Ali is said to have told her mother Myroon Gaffoor, “Anytime you find me dead, is the monster who killed me.” Gaffoor told the Newsday that for years she begged her daughter to leave her abuser.
Mahabir-Wyatt, a well-known women and children’s rights activist, admitted that domestic violence was very difficult to deal with and it must be tackled with preventative measures.
She said it is necessary for strong anti-bullying programmes to be introduced in schools in an attempt to curb aggression as well as identify “psychopathic” behaviours in children which could be treated early.
Mahabir-Wyatt also said there is a need for more shelters for abused women because the present ones are always fully occupied. She said also there is a need for more funding to be made available to the shelters even though they may have Government support. Gender Minister Marlene Coudray agrees. She said the Ministry is doing the best it could to fund the shelters but corporate Trinidad and Tobago also needs to play their part.
At an award ceremony for International Women’s Day on March 8, the Minister honoured 11 women’s shelters and safe houses. These were Madinah House, Mizpeh, Myrtle’s Place, Nekevah Rescue Centre, Family First Foundation, The Shelter, The halfway House, Vision of Hope Halfway House, and Goshen.
She also said she is looking into the options of legislative reform to protect abused women. She said the Ministry’s main goal is to protect and prevent these kinds of murders from happening.While there is a need for more safe houses to be established to protect women in abusive relationships, rehabilitation centres should also be built for the men who abuse them.
Head of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Victims Support Unit, Margaret Sampson-Browne, said these centres should focus on helping men deal with their anger and dominance issues.
“We need to protect our women and save our men. The men should be removed and sent to a place where they could receive counselling. There must be an effective place where women could be saved,” Sampson-Brown said.
Coudray told Newsday the Ministry is looking into initiatives to deal with the problem of abuse by providing counselling for men. Mahabir-Wyatt also agreed there should be counselling for men.
Sampson-Browne also addressed what she perceives to be a flaw in existing legislation which deals with domestic abuse and the powers of the police to arrest abusers. She said under the Domestic Violence Act the police have the right to enter a home without a warrant if they suspect there is an incidence of abuse.
Section 21 (1) of the Act states: “A police officer shall respond to every complaint or report alleging domestic violence whether or not the person making the complaint or the report is the victim. Section 23 (1) states “For the avoidance of doubt, a police officer may act in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law Act where he has reasonable cause to believe that a person is engaging in or attempting to engage in conduct which amounts to physical violence and failure to act immediately may result in serious physical injury or death.”
Sampson-Browne said the police have the authority to take the abuser to the police station for a “cooling off period” which could allow the victim to pack her belongings and leave the home. However, the police may find themselves unable to pursue a prosecution if the alleged victim refuses to testify against the alleged perpetrator.
“Once the victim makes the report, the police will continue the case if the victim continues as well. Unlike other countries like Canada, if she (the victim of abuse) does not continue to pursue the matter, the police cannot continue the prosecution,” Sampson-Browne explained.
Source:http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,178786.html
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