Akousa Bares Her Soul

By Cecily Asson Sunday, March 9 2014

BROUGHT to her knees after losing everything which she believed was most important and later shocked into reality that life was more than a husband, a house, a car and academic degrees, Trinidad-born Akosua Dardaine-Edwards, 39, an internationally known advocate for the empowerment and development of women has returned home to tell her story. On Wednesday, she will launch her first book What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self Love at National Library and Information System (NALIS) in Port of Spain..

What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self Love charts Dardaine-Edwards’s journey from a shy and self conscious child to a mature, self confident woman through the realisation that unconditional self love is the key to this transformation.

According to Dardaine-Edwards, the lessons learnt in Northern Uganda where she spent the last 15 months working with women who experienced 27 years of civil war, was enough to make her wake up and accept herself for who she is and show that she is “not the victim of anything.” She only returned home in January. Dardaine-Edwards told Sunday Newsday: “Coming from the western world, going into a situation (northern Uganda) where there is extreme poverty I have never seen before, I personally thought that I was going to be the one to go there and help them and be someone that they come too, to help change things.” It turned out, she said, that “I changed.” The resilience of the women, many of them who were at the time “child soldiers” during the war made her see life from a different perspective, she said.

After 27 years of war, those women found ways to be happy within “their circumstances,” she said. In her book Dardaine-Edwards, an accountant by profession, tells of her childhood years growing up in Simpson Brown Terrace, Cocoyea, her going abroad to study, her failed marriage and the ability to re-discover just who she is.

“I was never planning on writing a book,” Dardaine-Edwards said, “All I was doing at the time was just detailing all my thoughts — just journaling my different journeys of what I have been through in my life...

“The time has definitely come for me to show up as myself.”

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,191642.html

Family Wants Separate Funerals for Murdered Mom, Killer Dad

By Susan Mohammed

Story Created: Mar 6, 2014 at 9:10 PM ECT

Story Updated: Mar 6, 2014 at 11:12 PM ECT 

 

THE family of slain Carapichaima mother Marilyn Murggan wants a funeral service for her separate from her husband, Harold Ali, who confessed to killing her before he committed suicide. 

Murggan’s son, Christopher Sudansingh, told the Express yesterday  he and his siblings were finding it difficult to come to terms with the circumstances under which their mother died. 

Sudansingh, 32, said: “We are not coping well. We are still in shock. My sisters do not want a joint funeral. They cannot come to terms with what he did.” 

Sudansingh said he discovered his mother’s body in the bathroom of her home at Wyaby Road, Waterloo, on Carnival Tuesday. 

An autopsy performed yesterday by Dr Valery Alexandrov found the 50-year-old mother of four suffered manual strangulation and there were vague imprints of fingernails on her neck. 

Alexandrov also performed the autopsy on Ali, also 50, and confirmed that he ingested a poisonous substance, a herbicide.
Ali died at San Fernando General Hospital on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, he telephoned one of his daughters and confessed to killing Murggan and said he was going to drink poison. Hours later he was found lying in a drain in Victoria Street, Gasparillo. 

Of his mother’s relationship with Ali, Sudansingh said they had lived together for almost four years and Ali was never violent to her. 

Sudansingh said on Carnival Monday his mother sold drinks from a bar in front of their home. He said he was told that later that night villagers heard the couple quarrelling and Ali left the house in his vehicle.

“This is very shocking. They had their usual quarrels but there was never violence. He cared for my mother a lot,” said Murggan’s son. 

Funeral arrangements were being made for the weekend. 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Family-wants-separate-funerals-for-murdered-mom-killer-dad-248923311.html

Killer Dies in Hospital

By LAUREL V WILLIAMS Thursday, March 6 2014

A DAY after he strangled his common-law wife at their home in Carapichaima, Harold Ali died at hospital yesterday morning where he was warded after he drank a poisonous substance shortly after committing the murder.

Ali, police sources said, managed to telephone his relatives to whom he confessed to killing mother of four Marilyn “Maro” Murggan, 50, on Carnival Tuesday. Murggan, a CEPEP worker of Wyaby Road off Waterloo Road in Carapichaima, was found dead on the floor of her bathroom at about 6.15 am on Tuesday.

Ali, who lived with Murggan and other relatives in the house, fled the scene shortly after her body was discovered. Police said he later telephoned relatives telling them that he had strangled Murggan. Shortly after, officers of the Gasparillo Police Station found Ali lying on Victoria Street, frothing from the mouth.

The officers rushed Ali to the San Fernando General Hospital where the 50-year-old man was warded in critical condition and died yesterday at about 2 am, while under police guard.

Murggan’s sister Susan Sincere told Newsday that although other relatives were inside the house, no one heard any commotion from the couple. She noted that relatives became aware of the incident only when Ali’s relatives arrived at the house and told them that Ali had just called from a cellular phone to say he had just killed Murggan.

Police and ambulance personnel were contacted and subsequently took Murggan, a grandmother of one, to the Couva District Health Facility where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Autopsies are expected to be performed today on the bodies of Murggan and Ali at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Sincere noted that she did know too much about Ali and confirmed that both autopsies are to be done today. Investigations are continuing.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,191514.html

LIVING SAFE: Remembering domestic violence on Valentine’s Day

By Katherine Cabaniss
  
Valentine’s Day is for celebrating the love in our lives. It is a day for flowers, chocolates, and perhaps even marriage proposals!

For some, love is not always composed of bliss or peace. Domestic violence may occur more often in some relationships than an annual holiday. For some, valentines are not a celebration, but a time for an apology.

Domestic Violence

The Texas Council on Family Violence reports that 114 women were killed in domestic violence murders in 2012. The number represents an increase of about 10 percent since 2011, but was down from a high of 142 victims in 2010.

Also in 2012, there were 188,992 family violence incidents reported. This level of violence is greater than 500 violent acts per day. Because it is believed that only a portion of the incidents that occur are reported, it is likely that the rate of domestic violence occurrences is even greater.

In addition, of the total 16,528 people who sought shelter from the violence, 14534 were children.

Valentine’s Day

Compare these statistics to those of the most romantic day of the year.

More than $18 billion will be spent on Valentine’s Day flowers, candy, and jewelry. And roses — 224 million were grown specifically for the annual event. About 150 million cards will be exchanged.

Even pets get into the act. Of the $130 that each person will spend on Valentine’s Day, about $4 will be for gifts to pets, our animal family members.

Cost comparison

The costs of domestic violence are high. Several categories of costs have been identified. From lost productivity at work due to injury, to actual medical expenses from emergency room visits, to costs of counseling and shelter, domestic violence is an expense that our community currently bears.

Programs to reduce domestic violence have been in existence for years. They have measurable results and successes. Reports and studies indicate that they are cost-effective. Routing our Valentine’s Day and other spending toward those programs that reduce the impact of domestic violence is worthy of our consideration.

This year, celebrate the love in your life. Remember that for many, violence is routine and Valentines are rare.

If you know someone who is suffering in a violent relationship, give them the gift of your support. This Valentine’s Day, reach out to that person who may be suffering in silence. Without judgment or demand, offer your support. Your listening ear may be more valuable than any Valentine they receive.

Make it not only the most romantic day of the year, but also the safest.

Source: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/fort_bend/opinion/living-safe-remembering-domestic-violence-on-valentine-s-day/article_195ce733-95d2-57aa-8f83-7891bbe6ad2e.html

Stalking and Domestic Violence – It’s Not Just The Victim Who is at Risk

Liora K Photography

Monday, February 3rd, 2014
  
By Nancy Salamone

Domestic Violence Goes to Work.

When the victim has a job and the

abuser stalks them every employee

is at risk.

Leaving an abuser is one of the most dangerous times for a victim. Statistics show, that women who leave their abusers are at a 75% greater risk of being killed by the abuser than those who stay.

When a victim leaves the relationship the abuser fears they are losing control over the victim and need to regain their control and dominance over the victim – hence an abuser may resort to stalking. And if the victim has a job the stalking and harassment can spill over to the workplace.

When I left my husband the one place he knew I would be was at work and obviously he knew where I worked.  He did come to my office but was blocked from entering the building by the security guards who were given instructions not to allow him in the building. It was not until the security guards threatened to call the police that he finally left.

Since he was unable to enter my workplace he then resorted to staking me each day as I was leaving my office. He also began harassing not only me but my co-workers too. He would call all my co-workers and threaten to kill them and me. My co-workers were obviously scared and rightfully feared for their lives.

Thankfully he never harmed any of my co-workers but there are instances where a batterer does gain access to the workplace with the intent to harm not just the victim but other employees too.  In fact Radcliffe Haughton entered the spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin, which is middle to upper class community outside of Milwaukee, where his wife worked and opened fire and shot seven people in the spa – 3 of them fatally.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, data for the year 2003 shows that homicides were the second leading cause of death on the job for women and 15% of the 119 workplace homicides of women were attributed to a current or former husband or boyfriend.

When a victim has a job and the abuser stalks them at work every employee is at risk!
Domestic violence goes to work. So the question is “What are you going to do about it?!

Source: http://www.thebusinessofme.com/stalking-and-domestic-violence-its-not-just-the-victim-who-is-at-risk/

$600 Fine: Licks for Wife, Child

By Nikita Braxton-Benjamin

Story Created: Feb 5, 2014 at 11:59 PM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 6, 2014 at 9:35 AM ECT 

 

A MAN who admitted to assaulting and shaving the hair off the head of his ex-common-law wife and hitting their two-year-old son with a bottle was yesterday fined $600. Imamshah Ali told the court he heard the woman having a conversation with a man and felt disrespected.

The case was determined by San Fernando Ma­gistrate Margaret Alert. She was told at around 8 a.m. on Saturday, the 26-year-old woman, from Tableland, was at the defendant’s home when they got into an argument over a phone call. Ali, 31, of Gasparillo, struck her with a teacup on the right side of her chin. The woman sustained a cut.

 

Police prosecutor Sgt Marlon Bruce said Ali continued quarrelling and prevented the wo­man from leaving. Around 9 a.m. the following day, while sitting in the living room holding their son, Ali slapped her on the face, injuring her mouth. He also hit her on the head, causing swelling to the area.
The court heard Ali also took a shaver and cut the woman’s hair.  He then threw a bottle at her and it hit their son on the right side of the face, causing bruising and swelling. When questioned by Constable Ferriera of the Gasparillo police, Ali said: “Is just a lil scuffle we had.”
 

He was charged with unlawfully assaulting the woman and his son by beating. Ali was also charged with assaulting the mother of his child with a teacup. When asked by the magistrate what the argument had to do with the child, Ali said: “That was an accident.”  He told the magistrate that on Saturday, the woman called him and asked to spend the weekend at his home, and while there, he heard her having a conversation with a man.

“I find that was disrespectful. She can’t come by me and that happening.” Asked why he used violence, Ali said his common-law wife was a “physical woman, too”. He was fined $300 on each of the assault char­ges against his wife and child. On the charge of assaulting the woman with the teacup, Alert said charging him for that offence was “overkill” as it had stemmed from the same incident.
She reprimanded and discharged Ali on that offence.

The $600 fine had to be paid by today or he will serve a month in prison. 

 

Source:  http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/600-fine-licks-for-wife-child-243879151.html 

Julie was Killed by ‘Someone She Knew’

By Susan Mohammed

Story Created: Feb 6, 2014 at 12:04 AM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 6, 2014 at 9:32 AM ECT 

 

Killed: Julie Duke-Guerraro was found Tuesday bound and gagged, with her throat slit.

COUVA mother Julie Duke-Guerraro bled to death from a single fatal stab wound to the neck which may have been inflicted by someone she knew.

Pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov, who performed a forensic examination yesterday, said there were no other marks of violence on Duke-Guerraro’s body, which suggested she did not resist or try to defend herself.

Duke-Guerraro’s body was discovered bound and blindfolded on Tuesday afternoon in the bedroom of her home at Perth Avenue, Perseverance Village.

The mother of three was found by her brother, Lester Duke, 18, who went to check on her after calls to her cellphone went unanswered during the day and she did not turn up for work as a preschool teacher.

Alexandrov told the Express he believed Duke-Guerraro was asleep when attacked.

“She did not have a single scratch on her body indicative of self-defence or resistance to her killer. 

 

It’s a possibility that she was sleeping when she was tied up and she may have been killed by someone she knew. It’s possible that the perpetrator had access to the house, so there was no fight. But that is for the police to find out,” he said.

Alexandrov said the weapon used had a three-inch single-edge blade, similar to a kitchen knife.
Duke-Guerraro’s mother, Lucy Duke, said the family was baffled by the killing, as her daughter never spoke of feeling threatened or scared of anyone.

She said Duke-Guerraro was married for almost ten years to Dillon Guerraro, but the two separated last year and their relationship was amicable.

Duke-Guerraro was a preschool teacher at Learning Tree Early Childhood Care Centre at Mary Street, Lisas Gardens.

Residents in the area yesterday expressed shock over the death.

The mother said she last saw Duke-Guerraro on Sunday at the christening of a re­lative. “She stayed about half an hour and everything was normal. She brought her children because I didn’t see them in a few days. Everything was normal with her,” she said.

Duke said the family wanted justice for her daughter’s death.

“I want to find out who did this to her and let the law deal with them. I leave everything in the hands of God,” said Duke. 

 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Julie-was-killed-by-someone-she-knew-243880551.html

Couva Mom Tied Up, Throat Slit

Story Created: Feb 4, 2014 at 10:30 PM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 5, 2014 at 11:34 AM ECT 

 

Murdered mother of three: Julie Guerraro

A COUVA mother was found murdered in her bed yesterday, with her hands and feet bound and throat slit.

The body of Julie Guerraro, 33, of Perth Avenue, Perseverance Village, was discovered at around 4.30 p.m.

Guerraro, a mother of three, was a pre-school teacher at Learning Tree Pre-School in Couva.
Police said her body was discovered by her brother, who went to check on her after calls to her cell phone went unanswered.

A party of police officers, led by Ag Snr Supt Johhny Abraham and Sgt Susan John of the Couva CID, visited the scene last night.

Guerraro was the ninth woman to be murdered for the year.

On Monday, 23-year-old Stacy Roopan was shot and killed while walking along the street near her home in Couva on her way to pick up her infant son at a preschool.

Police said the killings are unrelated.

Up to last night, the murder toll for the year to date stood at 54, while the figure at this time last year was 38.
—Susan Mohammed

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Couva-mom-tied-up-throat-slit-243608571.html

RAPE HORROR

Gopeesingh: Men 25-40 years old responsible for 2,500 teen pregnancies

By Ria Taitt Political Editor

Story Created: Feb 4, 2014 at 10:45 PM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 4, 2014 at 10:45 PM ECT 

In the senate: Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh

 

There are over 2,500 teen pregnancies each year, most of them for fathers in the 25 to 40 year age group, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh revealed yesterday. This suggests that many men are getting away with statutory rape.

Furthermore the minister said research at the UWI Faculty of Medical Science had showed that by age 19, more than 1,000 young women had four children already.

This was the “frightening” situation which Gopeesingh outlined as he responded to a question filed by Independent Senator Dr Victor Wheeler, in the Senate yesterday. Gopeesingh said based on his 27 years as a gynaecologist working in the public sector, for every 15 new patients in the ante-natal, 10 are teenagers.

Gopeesingh said the country had to get a handle on the issue of statutory rape because this teenage pregnancy situation cannot continue. “If people (fathers) are apprehended, there might be fear among the perpetrators,” and therefore it could serve as a deterrent to statutory rape, he said.
“It is an issue of socialisation and what these teenagers are looking for. When you question them, even when I was in my own practice...they said they were looking for some degree of love. They felt they were not loved,” he said.

Wheeler’s question had asked about teenage pregnancies among the student population.
Gopeesingh said he was advised by the Ministry that between 2008 and 2012, there were four reported cases of girls attending primary schools who gave birth. One in 2008, two in 2010 and one in 2012. He said all four girls returned to school to complete their primary school education. Three of them completed their secondary education up to form five. He said however that one primary school pupil (the one who gave birth in 2012) did not complete her secondary school education.

He said between 2008 to 2012, the Ministry of Education received reports of 153 cases of teenage pregnancy. He said of the 153 reported cases, approximately 81 girls returned to school and 54 completed their education up to Form five. Of the 153 reported cases,15 lived in Victoria, 52 lived in the district of Port of Spain, 26 in St George East, 44 in Caroni, four in the North-eastern district, three in the South-eastern district and nine in the St Patrick district. Of the 81 who returned to school, eight were from Victoria, 39 from Port of Spain, 20 from St George East, 16 from Caroni. Fifty-four completed up to Form five: five – Victoria, 24 – Port of Spain and environs, 20 – St George East, five – Caroni.

However the ministry said these were only the cases reported to Student Support Services. He said there was under-reporting of teenage pregnancies to the ministry and that many pupils merely dropped out of school. He said the truancy rate in schools was currently 15 per cent. The ministry had not been able to track those pupils who dropped out. “Both Dr Wheeler and myself being gynaecologists and following this over a number of years, the research shows that there are more than 2,500 cases annually of teenage pregnancies.” He said it is important to note that according to statistics from the Central Statistical Office as well, most of these pregnancies occur for gentlemen 25, 30, 35, 40 years old.

Asked what the ministry was doing to address the problem, Gopeesingh said the ministry was reforming the primary school curriculum and the secondary school curriculum. He said morals, values and ethics, character development, citizenry development, physical education, visual and performing arts and health and family life education had been added to this curriculum. He said social studies, with some degree of sex education, formed part of the secondary school programme.

Gopeesingh said there was a strong student support division at the ministry. Cabinet approved the increase of student support personnel to over 762. He said there were more 200 guidance counsellors and close to 100 social workers. He said shortly there would be clinical and educational psychologists as well as behavioural psychologists in the schools. He said the ministry had also begun a “strong parenting approach” in the primary and secondary schools. It had also begun the appointment of local school boards.

Gopeesingh said the ministry provides counselling for those who become pregnant. He said the issue of caring for the children (of teen mothers) was however posing a challenge for the Government. He said already 50 per cent of the mothers in the country were single. “So with a single parent, having a (child who is a) teenage parent, we have a major social problem with absentee grandmothers and absent mothers,” he said. 

 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/RAPE-HORROR-243609751.html

Murdered Grande Mom Laid to Rest

 Murdered Grande mom laid to rest

Story Created: Feb 4, 2014 at 10:28 PM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 4, 2014 at 10:28 PM ECT 

 

IMEELIA GOUMEL, 21, who was found dead at her Sangre Grande apartment last week, was laid to rest yesterday. She was initially thought to have committed suicide, but her death has since turned into a murder investigation.

Goumel was seven months’ pregnant at the time of death and the foetus was found next to the mother’s body last Thursday in her apartment at Shepherd Lane, Coalmine, Sangre Grande. Her funeral service was held at Allen’s Funeral Home in Sangre Grande and she was later buried at Toure Cemetery.

On Friday, an autopsy was performed and the initial results were that Goumel bled to death after slitting her wrists.

On Saturday, another autopsy was done at Allen’s in Sangre Grande and it was determined the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) student had been killed.

Last October, Goumel reported to the Sangre Grande police that she was being beaten by a man she knew, despite being four months pregnant at the time.

Police said a few people have been interviewed in relation to Goumel’s death and investigations were on-going. —GG

 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Murdered-Grande-mom-laid-to-rest-243608411.html

Death of a 21-year-old Woman

Autopsy: 21-year-old woman committed suicide

Story Created: Jan 31, 2014 at 9:17 PM ECT

Story Updated: Jan 31, 2014 at 10:10 PM ECT 

 

 THE death of a 21-year-old woman, whose seven-month-old foetus was found next to her body, is being treated as a suicide following a post-mortem at the Forensic Science Centre in Federation Park yesterday.

According to the post-mortem results, the victim killed herself by slitting her wrists.

Her name was Imeelia Goumel. She was a Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) student, who lived by herself at an apartment at Shepherd Lane, Coalmine, Sangre Grande.

Her father, Patrick Goumel, did not have much to say yesterday afternoon when telephoned by the Express, only that he last spoke to her about a week and a half ago.

“She was a cool person and I don’t want to say much besides that as she lived with her mom, so as far as I know she was always okay. She had her friends and so on, so I really can’t say how she lived.”

The woman’s body was found sometime on Thursday after neighbours reported a stench emanating from the apartment.

The police were called in and a team of officers along with the apartment’s landlord entered the premises and found Goumel’s semi-nude body lying on the floor in a bedroom. The foetus was near the body.

Police initially thought she had been beaten and left for dead. They believe the body had been there for four days prior to the discovery.

Relatives who were contacted by police said the last time they saw Goumel alive was on Sunday.

 The Express was told that Goumel’s mother is out of the country as she is said to be working on a cruise ship. It was not known if Goumel’s mother was aware of her daughter’s death. 

Pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes concluded that Goumel slit her wrists, following which she bled to death.

Sangre Grande CID and Homicide Bureau officers are continuing investigations.
—Gyasi Gonzales

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Autopsy-21-year-old-woman-committed-suicide-243021141.html

NURSE STRANGLED

Note from the poster: Strangulation is a personal crime, it is unclear at this time if this case is related to domestic violence.

Body of 32-year-old missing woman found in car trunk at hospital

By Susan Mohammed susan.mohammed@trinidadexpress.com

Story Created: Jan 30, 2014 at 10:04 PM ECT

Story Updated: Jan 31, 2014 at 11:58 AM ECT 

 

She was strangled and beaten to death.

A 32-year-old Barrackpore nurse who was missing has been found dead in the trunk of her car parked in a hospital car park. 

Police said the body of Jayanti Dubay-Ramrattan, a mother of one, of Wilson Road, was found by crime scene investigators (CSI) while examining her Hyundai Elantra. 

Dubay-Ramrattan had worked at St Ann’s Hospital for ten years and also at a private hospital in Cocorite. 

The Express was told that on Monday, a relative of Dubay-Ramrattan saw her Hyundai Elantra in the car park near the Accident and Emergency Department of the San Fernando General Hospital. 

However, it was only Wednesday night her family was informed of the whereabouts of the car. 

The family in turn informed the police and at around 4 a.m. yesterday, police officers towed it to the Barrackpore Police Station. 

At the police station when CSI officers opened the trunk of the car, they found Dubay-Ramrattan’s body. 
 
Dubay-Ramrattan and her husband, Ramchand Ramrattan, have a four-year-old daughter. 

A close male relative who is assisting the police in their investigations told investigators yesterday that on Wednesday, he went to the St James Police Station to report her missing. 

He informed them he last saw her at her home on the night of last week Thurs­day when she was preparing to leave for work and he went to bed. 

He also told investigators that the next day, he received a text from her, telling him she was going to lime with other nurses. However, after he was unable to contact her for several days, on Wednesday, he told police he went to her workplace in search of her. He said co-workers told him she had not reported to work for several days. 

The relative said he was told by St James police officers that the report should be lodged at the Barrackpore Police Station. He later went to that police station and lodged a missing person’s report. 

The relative was assisting homicide detectives in their investigation yesterday. 

An autopsy on Ramrattan’s body, performed yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, found she was strangled and suffered cerebral cranial trauma. 

The autopsy was performed by Dr Hughvon Des Vignes. 

Speaking to the media at the Forensic Science Centre, her mother, Rehana Dubay, said her daughter was pursing a bachelor of arts degree in nursing and had recently topped the Caribbean in one of her courses. 

Dubay also said her husband died in November. 

Vesham Pysadee, a cousin of the deceased, said he and his brother Joey did not know she was missing until Wednesday. 
Pysadee, a retired police officer, said when he was told she was missing, he made enquiries and was told the car was at the hospital car park, and he informed the police. 

The murder toll for the year up to last night was 45, compared with 33 for the same period in 2013.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/NURSE-STRANGLED-242861181.html

Domestic violence needs swift response

Published: Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bobbie-Lee Dixon

 

Domestic violence continues to escalate because of the “go-slow” approach by the criminal justice system in dealing with the issue. That, coupled with poor intervention strategies, is why lives are still being lost to domestic violence. That’s the conclusion of criminologist Renee Cummings. She said the criminal justice responses to domestic violence and interpersonal violence were flaccid. “We need focused, long-term intervention strategies to treat with domestic violence before it leads to domestic homicide,” Cummings said. “On a national level, we have also got to develop violence-reduction strategies to reduce domestic violence and the overall frequency of interpersonal violence.” She suggested swift prosecution, robust anti-harassment and anti-stalking legislation; offender rehabilitation programmes that treat with men and women who use violence in relationships; and multi-agency approaches and co-ordinated interventions to domestic and interpersonal violence, as some of the answers.

She said there was need for evidence-based programmes to assist men in understanding and managing their anger with strategies for self-regulation. “Men need to know they can access help and treat with issues such as anger, rejection, jealousy and the fear of being alone after a relationship is over—therapeutic interventions to help some men recognise that there is life beyond a relationship.” Her views were supported by lawyer and child rights activist Hazel Thompson-Ahye, who concurred that there was a “drag-foot mentality” on issues of domestic violence.
She said there was a need for a more structured and organised approach to prevention. The Domestic Violence Act needed to be revised and then actively enforced, she said via e-mail. Under the act, a protection order is the main remedy for victims of domestic violence.

But Thompson-Ahye said protection orders clearly do not work. What was needed was swift co-operation and continued interaction with victims by response units, she said. “I made a call last year for the police to be held accountable whenever they do not respond in a timely manner. “I strongly suggest that every report must be recorded and investigated, no matter how many times the woman recants her story.” Ways must also be found of continuing the prosecution of offenders even when the woman refuses to give evidence, she said. “Domestic violence is a crime and must be treated as such.” Cummings and Ahye were speaking in light of recent acts of domestic violence which had tragic endings. On January 9, a murder-suicide involving schoolteacher and Pennywise Cosmetics stores heiress Dian Paladee and her estranged husband Sanjeev Rambarran brought the issue to the forefront once more. It is believed Rambarran shot and killed his ex-wife before turning the gun on himself. That murder brought the number of domestic homicides to five between late December 2013 and January 2014.

Understanding domestic violence; beware of signs
In order to fight domestic violence, its dynamics must first be understood and victims must become aware of the warning signs, both Thompson-Ahye and Cummings said. Thompson-Ahye noted domestic violence was a copycat-type crime. “I say that because in the past I have had clients tell me that when there is a report of domestic violence in the newspapers, their husbands have waved the newspapers in their faces and told them they had better watch out, they might be next,” she said. She said the ultimate act of spouse murder is never the first act of violence and women need to take very seriously the first hint of violence even when the man appears to be contrite afterwards. “People who are experiencing domestic violence must be taught to recognise the triggers that precede the acts of violence and how to devise a safety plan for a quick getaway,” Thompson-Ahye said. “There are women who even during courtship experience violence and proceed to marry the same man. There are cases where the one act of violence is never repeated, but that is very rare and one would have to examine the perpetrator’s personal history to determine if that act was an aberration.”

Empower victims, reduce the cycle
Sharing a tragic story of a client who lost her life to domestic violence, Thompson-Ahye said the Government needed to do more to empower victims. She said the Government needed to spend more money on resources for victims, as too much is left up to NGOs, which are constantly begging and fund-raising. “Victims need shelters, training to become self-reliant, if they are unemployed, money to help them until they get on their feet and, very important, counselling for them and their children. “Domestic violence is a drain on our human and financial resources. It impacts the quality of life of victims, affects the effectiveness of the parenting, impairs the mental health of not only the victim, but also has a profound effect on the psychological health of her children who witness the violence. It also has implications for our health services, impacts employment, as days may have to be taken from work while the victim is healing or the bruises remain too visible to prying eyes,” she said. She noted that children were the most vulnerable in the midst of domestic violence and can become psychologically messed up later on and also become perpetrators or victims of domestic violence. “There is an increased risk in their being involved in abusive dating relationships and of their getting into conflict with the law. “Violence is learned behaviour and we need to teach children from early that violence is not an acceptable way of dealing with conflict,” Thompson-Ahye said.


More Recent Incidents
January 4: Shedrick Toppin, 38, was stabbed by a relative who is said to have been acting in self-defence.
December 26, 2013: Angel Persad, 21, of Siparia, was shot in the chest by her uncle, PC Lutchmansingh Pooran, who then committed suicide.
December 28, 2013:  44-year-old Steve Bain is believed to have committed suicide after trying to poison his wife.

Source: http://ht.ly/sPjtw

 

GET UP, GET OUT

GET UP, GET OUT

By Miranda La Rose Wednesday, January 15 2014

If ever a man should raise a hand against a woman or hit her, she should get out of that relationship immediately.

This is the plea made by Satnarine Paladee, brother of schoolteacher Dian Paladee, who was killed by her ex-husband Sanjeev Ramberran, who then shot himself to death, a week ago.

Satnarine, speaking yesterday at a memorial service for Dian at Daljit Moosai El Dorado South Hindu School, Tunapuna, where she taught the Standard One class, told teachers, students, parents and invitees to learn from his sister’s violent death.

The prayers (satsang) and readings were led by president of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Pundit Utam Maharaj and the nine-member SDMS Pundits Parishad (council). Present were Dian’s children Sangeeta and Sanjay, and brothers Don, Dave, Dalai and Dayn. Minister of Food Production and SMDS executive member Devant Maharaj also attended the service. While everyone has to die, Satnarine questioned why his sister, who never had a negative word for anyone, but only words of love and encouragement, had to die a violent death.

Dian would have celebrated her 49th birthday yesterday. She was the daughter of Lal and Shanti Paladee, the owners of Pennywise chain of cosmetics stores. On January 8, she was beaten with a rolling pin and shot once in the head by Ramberran, 44, who then turned the gun on himself. The shooting took place in Ramberran’s apartment at Bedassie Street, St Augustine.

The couple were married for 16 years, but divorced two years ago. Her brothers contend she was a victim of domestic abuse.

In his remarks, Satnarine also appealed to abusive men. “Every man, who may want to raise his hand to hit a woman, please erase that thought out of your head. Put it out of your head. Please walk away. Go drink a glass of water. Go say a prayer. Don’t ever, ever feel it is okay to raise your hand to any woman anywhere, at anytime.”

In a soft tone, he advised women, “if ever a man raises a hand to hit you, get out of that relationship. Don’t ever let nobody ever tell you that it is okay to be in an abusive relationship. They are the fools if they are saying that. Get up and get out. Get to the people who love you.” His sister, he said, was never abused by any of her siblings in any form.

“When we love people,” he said, “we should support them, be able to motivate them and not to let them stay and make mistakes.”

Calling for support for people in abusive relationships, he said, “Get them out of it. Let us as men never ever raise our hands to hit the person we are supposed to protect and to love for the rest of our lives.”

He urged people to remember Dian as someone who shared the gift of love not only among her family, but in the wider community including the school where she taught for 29 years, noting yesterday was also the anniversary of when she began teaching there. As a birthday gift, the Paladee family donated $100,000 to the school on behalf of Dian.

A teacher and the school choir encouraged everyone to sing and clap to a birthday song in an atmosphere that was already charged with a sense of loss and sadness. In a tribute, teacher Shivanie Soogrim described Dian as the diamond among her colleagues.

Always punctual, Dian’s teaching, Soogrim said, was not limited to the curriculum but including extra curricular activities among them managing the choir in which she played the harmonium. A Sai Baba devotee, Dian would preach to students and teachers to “start the day with love. Fill the day with love. End the day with love.” She encouraged students to love, so much so that one day, Soogrim said, Dian showed her a test paper on which one of her students wrote the word “Love” as her middle name. In brief remarks, SDMS general secretary Satnarayan Maharaj said the nation is in “tremendous trouble” and people cannot begin to understand the kind of problems being faced.” Evil is stalking the land,” he said and no one is safe.

Paladee and Ramberran’s deaths were the second murder/suicide for the year. The first was that of Amanda Persad, 22 who was shot to death on January 4, by her boyfriend Shastru Roopnarine, who committed suicide after. Last year on December 7, Jelani Joseph, 17, was burnt to death in Gasparillo by his father Christopher Joseph who killed himself after.

And on November 4, Charmaine Phillip, 50, was stabbed to death in Tobago by her brother Winston Phillip who committed suicide after.

In 2012, three murder/suicides were recorded and in 2011 there were four. In all the cases in which the women were victims, they were either beaten, strangled, stabbed or shot to death by men who were either a son, brother, husband, father or lover.

Source: http://newsday.co.tt/news/0,189203.html