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.
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.
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