TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Bishop Berkley: "We are losing our soul"

By Thenesa Grant-Caton
May 28, 2014

Anglican Bishop, the Right Reverend Claude Berkley says the unabated crime and violence and homicide in society is traumatizing the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking at a Eucharistic service at the St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Scarborough to mark the opening of the 2014 Synod of the Anglican Church of the Dioceses of Trinidad and Tobago, Bishop Berkley stated that, “Our moral and ethics have become confused and there is unsettling uncertainty about what is right and what is wrong,”

“We are not in a good place, given our rich offering of human, physical and other resources,” said Bishop Berkley, who grew up in Pembroke.

He says that there are daily issues within the education sector regarding a shortage of teachers, buildings in disrepair or situations of indiscipline with students, parents and teachers.

Bishop Berkley highlighted the claims of corruption and stated that it continues at a fanatic pace as new matters are uncovered on a daily basis. He says that the assault on women and children continues as domestic violence and child abuse remains a worrying concern.

“We are losing our soul,” he said, stating that society needs to start over. “It seems as if we need a whole new generation of churchmen and women, teachers, public servants, parents, politicians and community workers.”

Bishop Berkley indicated that additionally there is great concern about institutional breakdown on several factors and the consequences and effects this has caused on good governance.

During his address to community members and the Tobago House of Assembly, he stated that a former high commissioner suggested that inequality pays a prominent part in fueling the surge of crime among us and the perceptions of an even distribution of goods and services argues to be an ease to the anxiety and apathy to the feelings of some people.

Bishop Berkley declared that it is evident everywhere that the price of confidence and trust plays out in the highest course of our national life. He says that the care for the poor, the homeless and other marginalised persons is yet to be clearly defined, and that there are “still too many sufferers on our streets, in our villages and towns which are occurring in the face of seven figure expenditures.”

He believes that strengthening our health care system and related services are urgent imperatives in improving the quality of life for all citizens, and that it would reduce pains and suffering.

Bishop Berkley posed numerous questions towards his congregation. He asked, “In spite of all the outrage, what reassurances have been given? Do we have a greater sense of preventative action to protect us or detective action that will bring the perpetrators to justice? What have we done differently since Dana’s murder and the murders of several young lives?”

The theme of the 2014 Synod of the Anglican Church of the Dioceses of Trinidad and Tobago, which finished on Saturday, was “Stewardship: Nurturing and Empowering Youth – Enabling the Present and Future.”

Source: http://www.thetobagonews.com/news/Bishop-Berkley-We-are-losing-our-soul-260853981.html

Woman escapes violent boyfriend by slipping note to gas station clerk

A violent goon is back in jail in Washington State after his battered girlfriend slipped a note to a gas station clerk asking him to call 911.

BY Philip Caulfield

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, May 21, 2014, 2:03 PM

 

Bruce Dean, a clerk at an Arco gas station in Tacoma, 

called the police after a desperate woman trying to escape 

her abusive boyfriend slipped him a note.

A gas station attendant in Washington state helped rescue a desperate woman from her violent boyfriend after the woman slipped him a note pleading for help.

Bruce Dean, a clerk at an Arco gas station in Tacoma, said the frightened woman scrawled "Call 911" and her license plate on a scrap of paper and handed to him inside his store on Saturday afternoon, KIRO-TV reported.

The piece of paper also said "DV" — for domestic violence — and had a line that read "baby in car."
"It said call 911, and I did," Dean told the station.

When police eventually caught up to the car, the woman told them her boyfriend, Mark Valuckas, had been abusing her and threatened to hurt her child.

Mark Valuckas, 36, of Tacoma, Washington, was arrested 
Saturday on felony assault and harassment charges.

Valuckas, 36, stands only 4-foot-3, but has a long rap sheet.

According to reports, he's a registered sex offender who has been busted in the past for sexual assault, kidnapping and weapons charges.

Days before the woman's bid to escape, he'd stabbed her in the hand, burned her with cigarettes and hit her in the head with a baseball bat, police said.

The woman told cops she didn't try to run because she was afraid Valuckas would hurt her and her child.

On Saturday, the woman said, Vlauckas attacked her and held a knife to her throat.

He then allegedly told her to take a car ride with him so they could cool off, the New Tribune reported.

Valuckas was arrested and charged with assault and harassment.

He was being held on $500,000 bail.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-escapes-violent-boyfriend-slipping-note-gas-station-clerk-article-1.1800695#ixzz32zdn2uT6

Educational Opportunity to Deepen our Understanding of Sexual Violence

 As the Dragonfly Centre heads off to take part in the Washington State Coalition Against Sexual Assault's 2014 Annual Conference we take a look at what is happening in Trinidad and Tobago.

  

EVERYDAY LAW: Dealing with domestic violence

By Cecil McCarthy | Wed, April 30, 2014 - 12:00 AM

Commencing in 1991, when domestic violence legislation was enacted in Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean countries have introduced similar legislation aimed primarily at providing protection for the victims.   

Barbados was fairly quick in following the lead of Trinidad and Tobago with the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act being passed in 1992.

One of the likely consequences of the early passage of the act was that, like most pieces of legislation attempting to control social behaviour, it would need to be reformed to keep pace with the demands that are required by the experience of its implementation.

It is partly for this reason that in my last article I urged the establishment of a law reform commission which could more quickly identify weaknesses in legislation and propose reforms for enactment.  
In respect of domestic violence laws in the Caribbean, one constant criticism has been that the initial legislative efforts failed to take fully into account Caribbean realities such as the high incidence of visiting relationships as well as the potential for conflict where people have a child in common but live apart, and because the child may need to interact with each other on a regular basis.

The focus of the early efforts with respect to domestic violence legislation has been on persons living in a household.

When one considers that the traditional meaning of household in matrimonial proceedings connotes some shared domestic obligations such as household chores and living arrangements, it is arguable that where these do not exist, a person is not a member of the household and may not be subject to the protection of the legislation. 

It is submitted, therefore, that since the legislation is intended to offer protection in a domestic context, it should ensure that the definition begins by capturing any person who is resident at the premises. 
  
In 1999 the Trinidad parliament felt the need to amend their domestic  violence legislation to provide greater “protection for victims of domestic violence”. The preamble to that legislation reads in part:
“Whereas incidents of domestic violence continue to occur with alarming frequency and deadly consequences, 

And whereas it has become necessary to reflect the community’s repugnance to domestic violence in whatever form it may take and further influence the community’s attitude and support social change in respect of this social ill,    
                              
And whereas the government is of the view that one way to achieve these goals is to strengthen legislation to ensure a prompt and equitable legal remedy for domestic violence . . . .” 

The act introduced, among other things, a definition of visiting relationship to capture intimate relationships where people are not habitually resident in the same household.  

Section 3 provides that a “visiting relationship means a non-cohabitational relationship which is otherwise similar to the relationship between husband and wife”.

Section 4(2)(g) then permits a person who is or has been in a visiting relationship with a person of the opposite sex for a period exceeding 12 months to apply for a protection order.

Section 4(2)(f) empowers a person who has a child in common with the respondent to apply for a protection order.

It is not readily apparent why the period of 12 months is required to establish a visiting relationship.
In our context in which the fires of intimacy can burn with the rapidity and intensity of a bush fire and evaporate almost as quickly, it may well be inappropriate to put a timeline on the duration of the relationship.That apart, it is my opinion that both of the above provisions will improve our legislative regime.

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/everyday-law-dealing-with-domestic-violence/

RAPE THE SILENT CRY

Published: Sunday, May 25, 2014

Ann Marie Bissessar

 

There is no doubt about it—rape is one of the dirtiest deeds in the world. Rape, as we know it, is as old as civilisation itself. While the common definitions offered for rape is that it is sexual intercourse/taking by force/penetration, initiated by one or more people against another person without that person’s consent, this is a cut-and–dried definition that fails to really relay the physical and mental scarring that accompanies it. While we do know that in all the reported incidents of rape, sexual intercourse is carried out by physical force, coercion, and abuse of authority that by itself fails to also address the mental agony and the stigma that is associated with the victim. 

What is evident, though, is that in nearly all countries of the world, reported incidents of rape have been increasing rapidly. Internet statistics reveal, for instance, that internationally the incidence of rapes recorded by the police during the year 2010 varied between 0.2 in Azerbaijan per 100,000 people, and 92.9 per 100,000 people in Botswana, with 6.3 per 100,000 people in Lithuania as the median. What is surprising, though, is that the country that ranks first for the highest reported incidence of rape is the United States of America. In 2011, for instance, 83,425 cases of rape were reported. Indeed, it is alleged that in that country every 6.2 minutes a woman is raped. In the Caribbean, too, we are not free from the scourge of rape.  Indeed, 48 per cent of Caribbean girls who have had sex reported that their first encounter was “forced,” in other words, they were more or less raped. Sources have also cited a United Nations/World Bank report showing that the Caribbean has three of the top ten recorded rape rates in the world.
According to this report, the country that tops the list is the Bahamas, where the number of reported rapes is almost 15 times higher than most countries. Two other countries that have ranked in the top ten are St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica. In Jamaica, in 1989, there were 1,032 reported cases of rape and carnal abuse. This figure rose to 1,297 in 1993. Thirty-eight per cent of these victims in Jamaica in 1993 were between the ages of 18 and 25, and 44 per cent of the cases were in relation to carnal abuse of girls under 16 (taken from Violence against women in the Caribbean State and Non-State Response, Unifem, 1998). Police statistics for T&T for 1991 show that a woman is raped every 1.75 days. (As of January 2014, there have been a total of 39 reported cases of rape in this country.) While there were 142 reports of rape in 1985, only 48 per cent resulted in the laying of criminal charges. No convictions of rape were reported in that year. This disparity is also observed for 1989 when there were 239 cases of rape reported, 146 (61 per cent) of which resulted in charges of rape being laid. In that year, only ten convictions were recorded. Similar trends are observable for Barbados and Guyana. Statistics for Barbados show that in 1989, 64 reports of rape were recorded, 28  charges (43 per cent) were laid and there were no convictions. In Guyana for the year 1988, 73 reports of rape were made and 39 charges (53 per cent) of rape were laid.

Date rapes silent voices
However, it should be noted that these are the cases that were actually reported. Many cases go unreported for a number of reasons. For instance, in many universities or organisations which have halls of residence there have been incidents of what is commonly known as “date rapes.” In all the cited cases, the young women knew their attacker and were often on friendly terms with him. In most of the cases, the rape occurred either in the female’s apartment or in the male’s apartment. In many cases, it was a sleepover or a study-group session. In a number of cases, it commenced as fondling and then escalated. In all the cases, the young women felt it was their fault. In many of the cases, the young women did not go to the police or a counsellor. Nor did parents or friends know of the issue. The victims felt that people would judge them as provoking the attack rather than as the victim. They believed they would be ridiculed and scorned by their peers if they knew what had happened. They were horrified at what they thought the reaction of their parents and neighbours would be. 

In addition, these young females were afraid of the attitude of the police towards women. Moreover, many felt the justice system would be either lengthy or biased or would expose them to public scrutiny and ridicule. But it is not only these date rapes that go unreported. Sometimes the public gets one small peek at rapes occurring in the household and the speculation is that where there is one case exposed perhaps ten more go unreported or does not meet the eye of the public. No doubt these cases join the silent voices of many others. The issue of unreported rape cases, though, is one that should be given more attention. No doubt the justice system and the attitude of the police deter many people from reporting the incidents, but another factor should also be given serious attention, namely the society. Does society, for instance, have something to do with the way men view women? Or is it that the society places a stigma on women who are raped? Are there different yardsticks for men as opposed to women? Is it that the laxity of the laws with respect to pornography one of the many causal factors? Does the society and its impact on family life have any relationship with rape? It is evident, though, that the issue of rape, unreported as well as reported, must once more be aired thoroughly. If we fail to do so, the silent cries will continue to be unheard.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2014-05-25/rape-silent-cry
 

Abuse Terror

Text Size:

Cops rescue woman from husband

... Kept like prisoner in own home

 

Published: Thursday, February 13, 2014

Geisha Kowlessar

 

Manager of the Victim and Witness Support Unit Margaret Sampson-Brown signs the protocol for Interagency Collaboration for the Prevention of and Response of Gender Based Violence in T&T, as Elizabeth Spence (Family In Action), left, Natalie O’Brady (Rape Crises Unit), second from left, and Donna Martinez (APATT) look on during yesterday’s event. In back row are Roger McLean (FPATT), Myrtle Ward (APATT), Canadian High Commissioner Gerard Latulippe and Grace Telma (APATT).

 

 

 PHOTO: SHIRLEY BAHADUR

Head of the Victims and Witness Support Unit of the Police Service Margaret Sampson-Browne yesterday told a harrowing story of a young housewife and mother who was subjected to such extreme domestic violence by her husband, that she even had to ask him permission leave to the bathroom. The woman, who lived in south Trinidad, was recently rescued by the police, she said.


Sampson-Brown was speaking at the launch of a programme titled Integrating Gender-based Violence Services with Sexual and Reproductive Health Services for Young People, at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. The former assistant commissioner said somehow, the police found the woman and “literally rescued her through the back door.”

“The victim in this case...she was experiencing a severe domestic violence situation. So severe that she has to even ask permission to come from the bathroom of her house to come into the living room,” Sampson-Browne told the forum. “She is in prison because she cannot even speak to her loved ones or her friends. If she speaks it is when the perpetrator is out of hearing or sight and she has to delete the number on the phone because when he comes back he will check it.”

“After years and years of abuse we were able to remove that woman from the home...we had to actually pass her through a back door.” In response to the woman’s actions, the perpetrator went to the magistrate’s court and applied for access to his children. The woman, who is in her 30s and who Browne said “has been married for a long time,” is now in a safe house. She added, however, that the perpetrator had the intention of getting back at the woman.

“And we know that all he wants is to draw her out in the open, because it is the first time in his life that he is losing control and she is saying to him, ‘I have had enough.’ “She was so scared that she can’t even come to the court to apply for a protection order. We applied for a protection order on her behalf. So when he believes she is coming to court to get access, she is coming to court to tell the magistrate she does not want him in her life,” Sampson-Browne added.

She said it was only because there were dedicated people working with the victim that she could now enjoy sleep. To save lives, Sampson-Browne said, sometimes required out-of-the box thinking, even on the part of the police. “Women and children are dying at the hands of perpetrators who purport to love them,” she said.


She said so far this year, nine women had lost their lives to domestic violence. She said last year, 2,013 victims of domestic violence sought the help of the unit, while 200 victims had already sought their support so far this year. Sampson-Browne said the unit was now preparing to go on an education drive to get the public on board.


Also speaking at the forum, Roger McLean, first vice-president of the Family Planning Association (FPA), said one in three women in T&T suffered some form of domestic abuse, including being beaten and coerced into sex.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-02-13/abuse-terror

Some Countries Spend More On Domestic Violence Costs Than On Primary Education: Report

The Huffington Post  | by  Rebecca Klein

Posted: 05/16/2014 4:13 pm EDT Updated: 05/16/2014 4:59 pm EDT

A report out this week from the World Bank Group examined some of the challenges facing women around the world and uncovered some unequivocally devastating finds. As shown in the map below, a significant share of women, especially in Africa and South Asia, have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner during their lifetime.

But, as the report explains, high rates of intimate partner violence (abbreviated IPV in the report) -- defined as “all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses” -- not only have an impact on individuals and families, but also affect countries’ economies.
Estimates of the costs of violence against women are so high that a lower percentage of some countries' Gross Domestic Product is spent on primary education than on domestic violence costs. According to the report, the costs of intimate partner violence are driven up by factors like lost income and productivity, health care and police services.
The graph below shows the cost of intimate partner violence in a few countries, although the report notes that estimates across countries are not directly comparable, due to the varying measures used to account for these costs.

But, if there’s any silver lining in the report, it’s that education can be a powerful tool. While the report shows that not nearly enough women receive a proper education in many parts of the world, when they do, it generally has positively impacted their lives. The graphs below show two examples.

The report is especially timely amid the search for over 250 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, who were abducted in April by an Islamist militant group.
“The tragedy which is unfolding in Nigeria I think underlines the urgency of the agenda,” World Bank Group Gender and Development Director Jeni Klugman told NPR of the report. “The issues we’re dealing with in this report are about the denial of choice -- girls who are unable to go to school, girls who are unable to make choices about whether and how many children to have. … I think bringing together the evidence from around the world about the gravity of these challenges and also what can be done I think makes it very timely as well as new.”

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/16/world-bank-group-women-report_n_5338940.html
 

MOM SHOT DEAD ...Daughter In Critical Condition, Suspect On The Run

Sherlene Charles

By Susan Mohammed susan.mohammed@trinidadexpress.com

Story Created: May 9, 2014 at 9:05 AM ECT

Story Updated: May 9, 2014 at 10:53 AM ECT 

 

A 37-year-old Ste Madeleine mother was gunned down and her daughter left in critical condition at hospital after a close male relative allegedly shot them in their house last night.

The deceased, Sherlene Charles, of Tarrodale, and her 14-year-old daughter, were asleep when the killer broke into their home.

According to police, at around 11 p.m. Charles, a kitchen assistant at Royal Palm Hotel in San Fernando, her daughter, and three other relatives were in their bedrooms when they were awakened by a noise in the house.

Police said the relatives went to investigate and found a window broken and the close male relative standing in the living room with a firearm.

The suspect shot at Charles and her daughter and fled. Charles, police said, was shot in the abdomen and hand, while her daughter was hit in the chest and shoulder.

Charles was pronounced dead at the scene by district medical officer Dr Ragoobar. Her daughter is warded at hospital in critical condition.
Police said they recovered four spent nine millimetre shells at the crime scene.

The suspect, a 35-year-old man, is on the run. Police said they were told that Charles had been separated from her husband for three months. An autopsy is expected to be conducted on her body today.
Cpl Ramlogan of Ste Madeleine is investigating.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/MOM-SHOT-DEAD-258615851.html

Domestic Abuse: What You Need to Know

Written by  Cathy Meyer

Domestic abuse is about control and power, usually a man getting and keeping control and power over a woman. To simplify it, someone who commits domestic abuse is a control freak, and for the sake of argument, we are going to use the pronoun “he.” An abuser can’t feel good about himself unless he feels he is in total control of a woman and the relationship.
The abuser will use physical violence, threats of physical violence, isolation, yelling, screaming, and emotional, sexual or financial abuse to attempt to control his wife and in return control the relationship. He will leave both physical and emotional scars as he tried to remain in control and stave off the feeling of his wife being out of his control. And as the economy gets worse, and recession sets in, and jobs are lost, and income falls… the more an abuser takes out his feelings of helplessness on his wife.

Victims of Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse happens to women of all ages, races and religions. Her economic or professional status is not an indicator of whether or not she will one day be a victim of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse occurs in the poorest neighbor and the priciest mansions.

Nearly 95 percent of domestic abuse victims are women. Over 50 percent of all women will experience domestic abuse in a love relationship and, for 24 to 30 percent of these women, the abuse happens regularly and over a long period.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, every 15 seconds a man or a woman becomes a victim of abuse. An abuser may seem gentle, loving, and kind to begin with. A woman might start a relationship thinking she had met her soul-mate, only to discover her mate had no soul at all.

Types of Domestic Abuse:

• Physical Abuse. Physical abuse consist of grabbing, pinching, shoving, slapping, hitting, hair pulling, kicking, biting, etc. The abuser lashes out with aggressive or violent behavior to show the victim that he is the boss.

• Sexual Abuse. The sexually abusive husband will force or attempt to force sexual contact. A sexual abuser may commit marital rape, force sex on his wife after an episode of physical abuse, or treat his wife in a sexually demeaning way.

• Financial Abuse. The financial abuser attempts to make his wife financially dependent upon him. He maintains control over every financial resource; he withholds access to money and thwarts any attempt on her part to become financially independent.

• Emotional Abuse. The emotional abuser attempts to undermine his wife’s sense of self-worth by constantly criticizing her, belittling her, calling her names, coming between her and her friends, family, even children. Fear comes from the intimidation and mind games the victim is exposed to.

• Verbal Abuse. Verbal abuse may be overt or covert. Overt verbal abuse involves angry outbursts, verbal attacks, and name-calling. Overt verbal abuse is usually blaming and accusatory and causes great confusion to a wife who works hard to do the right thing. Covert verbal abuse involves subtle comments meant to cause the wife to doubt herself, but given with the appearance of “only trying to be helpful.” Covert verbal abuse, which can be even more confusing, stems from repressed and hidden aggression on the part of the abuser. He wants to control her without letting her know. He was to control her while holding onto his image as a nice guy.

An abuser, regardless of how he chooses to abuse is a “coward and a bully” according to Dr. Phil McGraw. The abuser “chooses to abuse where it is safe, in a place where he feels loved and protected.”

Do you know someone who is loving and protecting an abuser? In my next article, I will discuss a few questions to be asked, and steps to be taken, so a woman can protect herself.

Source: https://www.firstwivesworld.com/index.php/experts/item/3277-domestic-abuse-what-you-need-to-know