A crime that knows no borders

By Margaret Diop

Story Created: Nov 25, 2013 at 9:03 PM ECT

Story Updated: Nov 26, 2013 at 12:13 AM ECT 

 

We observed International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women yesterday and as we mark the next accompanying 16 days of activism against gender violence, the United States of America reaffirms its commitment to preventing and responding to violence against women and girls globally.

The theme of this year’s observance is “Intimate Partner Violence.”

An estimated one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, and intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence experienced by women globally. Gender-based and intimate partner violence cuts across ethnic, racial, socio-economic, and religious lines. It knows no borders. It occurs in Trinidad and Tobago just as it does in the United States and every other nation.

Intimate partner violence includes not only acts of physical aggression but also psychological abuse, forced intercourse and controlling behaviours such as isolating a person from family and friends or restricting access to information and assistance.

This type of violence affects 30 per cent of women worldwide; 35 per cent of women around the world have been raped or physically abused, and, if this violence occurs at home, 80 per cent of the time it is by a partner or spouse.

The 2012/2013 Judiciary Annual Report shows that in the Trinidad and Tobago Magistrates’ Courts 11,382 new domestic violence applications were filed.

These figures should concern all of us.

Whether it occurs in our own neighbourhood, or on distant shores, violence against women and girls damages us all—men and women alike. As Secretary of State John Kerry has stated, “Too many women are being silenced, abused, or subjected to violence simply because of their gender… Their courage must inspire us to continue to work toward a world where every woman can live free of violence and pursue her fullest potential.”

We must recognise that violence against girls and women is, at root, a manifestation of the low status of women and girls around the world. Ending the violence requires elevating the status of women and girls and freeing their potential to be agents of change in their community.

We all need to work together—the international community, governments, multilateral organisations, private sector companies, and grassroots-level advocates to address and prevent violence from occurring.

Together, we need increased advocacy and more interaction between policy makers and those who work in the field. We need to empower girls to speak up for themselves, and educate boys to speak up for their sisters. We must support the inclusion of men, boys, and critical community stakeholders – such as religious leaders – in addressing and preventing violence and changing gender norms and attitudes. We must ultimately overcome the deep-rooted gender inequalities that either tacitly allow or actively promote violent, discriminatory practices.
Addressing violence against women and girls is not just a moral imperative. It is an economic necessity. In addition to the psychological and emotional tolls we pay, we also pay the medical bills and legal costs.

We lose wages and productivity. Businesses lose employees. Families lose primary wage-earners. In short, we simply cannot afford to let gender-based violence continue.
The United States has made significant progress in its efforts to address gender-based violence around the world, through the development of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security; the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has invested more than $215 million globally in programming to combat gender-based violence over the last three years; the work of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; and efforts to incorporate gender-based violence programming into humanitarian response activities.

Last December, the US Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues hosted the first-ever Caribbean Dialogue on Rule of Law and Gender-based Violence in Miami. The Dialogue brought together over 80 technical experts and stakeholders from 12 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, and facilitated critical conversations about strengthening rule of law and the response to gender-based violence. Several participants from that dialogue also joined the Embassy at an Anti-Domestic Violence workshop earlier this year to continue the discussion.
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is considering several measures to protect the most vulnerable members of society. We trust they will move forward with the anticipated gender policy and take the necessary measures to support the Children’s Authority. Going forward, the U.S. will continue to shine a bright light on the issue of gender-based violence. I know we can achieve real progress in the Caribbean and around the world.

• Margaret Diop is the Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy, Port of Spain. 

 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/A-crime-that-knows-no-borders-233392361.html

Men: We Can Start a Movement to Stop Violence Against Women

By challenging male conformity, we put the onus of ending abuse against women where it belongs – with men who perpetrate it

Carlos Andrés Gómez
 theguardian.com, Thursday 21 November 2013 08.45 EST

"Be That Guy" is a new campaign by the human rights

 organisation Breakthrough. It encourages men to speak

 up when they see violence against women in any form 

Fellas, I'm tired. Are you tired? Aren't you tired of being that one-dimensional caricature of a man someone told you to be? The kind that is quick to use his fists, feels stuck and afraid but can't show it, the kind destined for prison or anguish or pretending to be anything less than our dreams. I am tired of us hurting each other, ourselves and women.

Because that's what the culture of masculinity that we've inherited has us do. It has us hurting.
Violence against women is the most widespread human rights violation in the world. It transcends age, race, religion, nationality, and class. In the US, every 15 seconds a woman is battered by a partner. And in public schools, 83% of girls ages 12 to 16 experience some form of sexual harassment. That's unconscionable. It might not be you or me doing the hitting or harassing, but guys, we are still responsible.

We are responsible because we belong to the current culture of manhood that allows this – a culture that says we can't show fear, we can't be wrong, and we are entitled to power over others, especially women. But that culture is wrong. And unless we actively work to change it, women will keep getting hurt.

A culture that tells us we're not allowed to be afraid is a culture that denies our own humanity. And if we're not allowed to be human, then we become something else.

And what are we afraid of? We're afraid of our fathers, our brothers, our friends, our potential to be our fullest, best, most authentic selves. We're afraid that we won't do a good job, that someone won't like us, that we'll look weak. We're afraid to say, "I love you", or "I'm sorry", or "I can't", or simply, "Hey, dude, can you please stop catcalling random women on the street?"

Our actions don't have to meet outdated notions of chivalry. We don't need to step in to protect women. We need to step in to check each other – to stop other men.

Like the time when I was 13 and some random guy tried to bond with me on the L train platform in Manhattan, as he ogled a girl passing and then looked at me to join in. I was in middle school, the man was maybe 35 and the person he was ogling was, at most, 15. I just shook my head and said: "Naw, man." The dude looked at me like I'd just set myself on fire. He looked horrified, stunned, and confused.

Or the time recently I was playing basketball with a friend. We were talking junk during a game of one-on-one and he called me a "bitch". I was like, "Whoa, dude. All joking aside, that's a word we need to stop using." He immediately apologized, and the moment became a discussion point for us later that night.

These everyday interruptions are easy and risk little, but they are also influential. They change the culture of how men engage and interact with each other. All we need is the courage to #BeThatGuy. "Be That Guy" is a new campaign by the global human rights organization Breakthrough. "That guy" knows street harassments and nasty comments are part of a dangerous culture and makes saying "no" to those behaviors – and to all violence – normal.

The men who hurt women – they're not who we really are. They're dark shadows of ourselves, the aching parts of us projecting out our pain, harming ourselves and harming women. It's time to let in the light on those shadows, exposing them for the true fears they are. It's time to break the rules of that culture and make a new one.

When I was 23, I got into a confrontation at a nightclub after accidentally bumping into another man. Just as we were about to fight, my eyes inexplicably welled up with tears. Everyone jumped back, as if my conspicuous emotion was the craziest thing they had ever seen, as though my vulnerability was a grenade dropped in the middle of that room. It was then that I realized that my life-and-death stakes performance of being a man was a path leading to my own destruction. It inspired me to write my memoir, Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, and dedicate my life to trying to diffuse the walking time bomb of destructive masculinity. It starts with interrupting and changing the way we bond as men, creating a new culture of brotherhood.

By challenging male conformity we put the onus of ending violence against women where it belongs – with the men who perpetrate it. The solution isn't just to stand up for women, it's to hold men accountable. We can do that one moment at a time – on the sidewalk, in the subway, at the dinner table, at the game, on the bus, at the bar, with ourselves.

So yeah, man. Want to start something?

Let's start a movement – a movement of men who aren't afraid to stop violence against women.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/21/be-that-guy-movement-end-violence-against-women

 

Husband tried to hang me with bedsheet

Teen alleges:

By Susan Mohammed susan.mohammed@trinidadexpress.com

Story Created: Nov 25, 2013 at 9:36 PM ECT

Story Updated: Nov 26, 2013 at 12:20 AM ECT 

 

A 25-year-old Barrackpore man who allegedly battered his teenage wife, then attempted to hang her with a bedsheet, appeared in court yesterday charged with attempted murder.

Darren Mohammed, a painter and labourer, of New Colonial Road, appeared before Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne in the Princes Town First Magistrates’ Court.

The charge, laid by Constable Tambie of Barrackpore Police Station, alleges that on November 21 Mohammed beat Amanda Mootilal, 18, and threatened to kill her, said police prosecutor Sergeant Krishna Bedassie.
Bedassie told the court that the alleged incident occurred at the couple’s home, where he allegedly cuffed and slapped Mootilal.

Mohammed is alleged to have tied a bedsheet around her neck and attempted to hang the teenager.
Mohammed’s attorney, Ravi Bunsee, applied for bail on the grounds that his client had no previous convictions.

However, the prosecutor objected to the application because of the violent nature of the offence and for fear that the victim would be interfered with.

Quintyne upheld the objection and denied bail.

Mohammed was remanded into custody until December 10.

Attorney Petronilla Basdeo also informed the magistrate that she is seeking a fiat to prosecute the case against Mohammed.

Basdeo also appeared on the teenager’s behalf in an application for a protection order against Mohammed.

The application was heard before Magistrate Avason Quinlan in the Second Court.

An interim order was granted and the case was adjourned to December 2.

Basdeo has also arranged for Mootilal, the mother of a two-year-old, to meet with a counsellor.
Meanwhile, the National Self Help Commission has confirmed receiving an application for assistance for Mootilal.

The Commission’s chief executive officer Reynold Baldeosingh said Mootilal has been invited to apply to the Commission for a grant and, once she qualifies, she will be assisted in building a home. 

 

Source:http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Husband-tried-to-hang-me-with-bedsheet-233395261.html

‘Why such hate against women?’

By RACHAEL ESPINET Tuesday, November 26 2013

AMID the background of sobering statistics including 11,382 domestic violence cases being filed in the courts between 2012 and this year, member of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence Diana Mahabir Wyatt, yesterday asked one simple question: “why do we hate women?”

Speaking at the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development’s breakfast seminar at Capital Plaza in Port-of-Spain, held to commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Mahabir-Wyatt asked, “Why is it that we (women) are so hated? Why is it that we are beaten, we are put down, we are condescended to, we are made to feel that we are inferior in society. Why?”

She said since the 1960s she has become very aware of the “gruesome” nature of domestic violence but questioned how much the country has really done to eliminate this abuse.

“We keep noticing more and more examples of violence against women and I kept going to meetings like this where people talked about how terrible things are, but nobody is doing anything about it,” she said.

Every year since 1999, November 25 has been used to commemorate the day. This year’s theme for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is, “Intimate Partner Violence.”

Yesterday also saw the start of the United Nation’s (UN) 16 Days of Activism, where Non Governmental Organisations, Community-based Organisations, Government bodies and any person can advocate for the elimination of gender-based violence. The 16 Days of Activism ends on December 10 — Human Rights Day.

Some facts revealed at yesterday’s meeting included that for the period of January to August 2013, there were six domestic violence related murders, 266 sexual offences involving females and 116 people charged for sexual offences against females, according to statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Unit (CAP) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.

According to the Police Service Serious Crime Statistics, from January to September 2013, there have been 371 reported cases of rape, incest and sexual offences. The annual report of the Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reveals that for the 2012/2013 law term, 11,382 domestic violence applications were filed.

Clifton De Coteau, Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development said that society has become so conditioned to violence that some do not acknowledge when violent acts happen to them.

“Being so conditioned by society, they do not see domestic and gender-based violence as a crime in the same way that they see the assault of one man by another or damage to property as a crime. It is accepted in many circles that such abuse is an inevitable part of the burden women have to bear,” he said.

De Coteau said the Ministry will build safe houses for women as well as provide programmes like the Defining Masculine Excellence Programme which allows men to learn about their relationships and inner feelings rather than using violence.

Source: http://newsday.co.tt/news/0,187038.html

Prime Minister: Stop Violence Against Women

PM: Stop violence against women

By Clint Chan Tack Monday, November 25 2013

PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday said Government is reviewing the Domestic Violence Act as it seeks to send a message that “whether it unfolds internationally or locally, violence against women is unconscionable and must be stopped.”

“As a parliamentarian and as a woman, I call on my fellow world leaders and on all persons of influence locally and internationally, to take action to end all forms of violence against women and girls, the Prime Minister declared in her message to mark the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women which is commemorated worldwide today.

Her view was supported by Gender, Youth and Child Development Minister Clifton De Couteau who disclosed he will have more to say today on matters raised by Persad-Bissessar at the opening of a seminar at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain.

In her message, Persad-Bissessar said this country “stands resolutely with the international community, to declare that violence against women and girls is a human rights violation and must not be tolerated.”

Observing that international statistics are alarming and estimate that “one in three women will be subject to violence in her lifetime” and one in three girls will be married as a child bride before the age of 18, the Prime Minister said, “Trafficking continues to ensnare millions of girls in modern-day slavery. Rape has become a tactic in warfare.”

In this country, Persad-Bissessar said records of the Police Service’s Crime and Problem Analysis Branch revealed that last year, there were 2,517 reported female victims of violent crimes in TT. Noting these crimes included murder, sexual offences , woundings and shootings,

Persad-Bissessar expressed concern that “many women who remain silent, afraid of the consequences of revealing the truth or believing that they themselves are the cause of the violence.”

Pledging that Government will continuously review and revise our legislation pertaining to the protection of women and girls; violence against women and girls and the rights of women and girls, the Prime Minister said, “Currently, our Domestic Violence Act is receiving the attention of Government, as we seek to ensure that every woman and girl within our nation, enjoys her fundamental human right to live free from violence.”

Noting this country has “an admirable track record and an enviable reputation internationally” regarding the promotion of the rights of women and girls, Persad-Bissessar stated, “We must not allow senseless violence, targeting our women, to tarnish this reputation.”

She challenged all citizens to not only protect and improve the lives of the women and girls with whom they are in contact “but also to engage our boys and men as partners in gender equality and respectful relationships.”

De Couteau agreed with Persad-Bissessar.

“These are legislative issues which have to put in place,” he said. Expressing concern that society adopts a “so what” attitude when cases of violence against women are reported, De Couteau said more must be done to get the victims to come forward while giving them the protection they require. He also said he was disturbed by attorney Lynette Seebaran-Suite’s disclosure at a panel discussion on Saturday about 10,000 applications by women in this country for protection orders.

In his message, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said, “Violence against women and girls directly affects individuals while harming our common humanity.” Ban said he launched the “UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign” in 2008, in response to this global challenge.

Identifying the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women as one way to support the elimination of violence against women worldwide, Ban said, “While the demand for its grants has more than doubled in recent years, the amount it has been able to distribute has diminished by 60 percent.”

“I appeal to all partners to help meet this vast unmet demand for resources to further advance efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls,” he added.

The objective of this fund is to help “respond to human rights violations and needs from physical safety to economic security.”

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,186969.html

Study: Doctors undertrained on diagnosing domestic violence injuries

by KMOV.com Staff

KMOV.com

Posted on November 12, 2013 at 6:40 PM

Updated Tuesday, Nov 12 at 6:40 PM

 

(KMOV.com) -- New research reveals that some doctors often miss domestic violence as the cause of injuries they treat.

Researchers at the University of Missouri found that fewer than 25 percent of orthopedic surgeons in the US had domestic violence training.

An international survey found that up to 40 percent of orthopedic trauma clinic patients are victims of domestic violence.

Advocates for battered women say many types of doctors should have the training.

 “Women that have been the victims of domestic violence and survivors usually suffer from arthritis, migraines and even gastro intestinal disturbances,” said Sylvia Jackson with The Women’s Safe House. “So to me that’s three different doctors there that should be screening for domestic violence.”
Officials with The Women’s Safe House say local hospitals do a good job of screening for domestic violence.

Source:http://www.kmov.com/news/editors-pick/Study-Doctors-not-trained-on-diagnosing-domestic-violence-injuries-231657311.html

Former Independent Senator Mahabir-Wyatt: Act Against Domestic Violence Not Working

Former Independent senator Mahabir-Wyatt: Act against domestic violence not working

Published: Friday, November 8, 2013

Reshma Ragoonath

A cross-section of students from Holy Faith Convent, Couva, ASJA

Girls’ College, Charlieville, and Saraswatie Hindu College at the

Parliamentary Outreach Programme at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning

Resource Centre, Couva, on Thursday.

Former independent senator Diana Mahabir-Wyatt says women must now stand up for each other as the Domestic Violence Act was not working. She said so yesterday as she addressed students of ASJA Girls’ College, Saraswati Girls Hindu College and Holy Faith Convent during a Parliament outreach programme with Speaker of the House of Representatives Wade Mark at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre, Couva.

Mahabir-Wyatt, head of the T&T Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Rape Crisis Centre, said that even though there was legislation to protect them, women were still abused and “that is not going to stop.” In fact, she said, violence against women was increasing and the Domestic Violence Act was not working because abusers were finding ways around the provisions of the act and protection orders.

“You cannot put a police officer in everybody’s house because domestic violence by and large takes place in the house,” she said. Mahabir-Wyatt, who was responding to question from a student, said citizens needed to recognise that the environment was changing and it was becoming “more and more violent societally, sociologically and physically.” She said women needed to be more vocal and stand up for their rights.

“One of the things that we have to do as women, and I say this to every single one of you here, is not to sit back and wait for government to pass laws to protect you. We have to organise ourselves and each other and we have to help each other,” she added. Mahabir-Wyatt told the students to help fellow women when they asked for help because someday they may find themselves in a position where they also would need help.

She said women could help and support each other, start organisations in their communities and help in the battle to end domestic violence. “We have to be strong enough and brave enough and honest enough to organise and help each other in order to protect our children, to protect our family,” she said. She said men also were subjected to abuse, since “women are not angels,” and could be “just as vicious with their tongues as men can be with their fists.”

Ramona Ramdial, Couva South MP and junior Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, suggested there was a lack of reporting of abuse. “I urge young women, do not be afraid to speak out, to help a friend or family member,” she said. The minister made a faux pas when she called on the students also to report abuse to the Children’s Authority hotline. Mahabir-Wyatt reminded her the Children’s Authority was still not ready for operation as it was in the process of recruiting staff.

Mark said education played a critical role in gender equality. He suggested that male and female citizens from the kindergarten level to tertiary level must be educated and have an appreciation for women’s rights.

Source:  http://guardian.co.tt/news/2013-11-08/former-independent-senator-mahabir-wyatt-act-against-domestic-violence-not-working