- Region Five women urged
Women in Region Five were urged to speak out against domestic violence which “should no longer be seen as a husband and wife issue and should not be swept under the carpet.”

They were part of a gathering that also including the police and schoolchildren at a Domestic Violence Awareness Seminar hosted by the Region Five Women’s Affairs Com-mittee (WAC) in observance of International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.

In an address, administrator of the Ministry of Human Services’ Women’s Affairs Bureau, Hymawattie Lagan said that many women and girls are being abused daily by family members but they are afraid to speak out. She encouraged the women to speak out since “unless we can speak out we can get nowhere.” She told them too to report the abuse to the police stations while calling on officers to deal with the matters justly.

For too long, she said, she has been reading in the newspapers about women’s throats being slit and children being raped by close male relatives who are supposed to protect them.

Lagan also made a call for everyone to “work together to form mantles to overcome domestic violence,” noting that some of the factors that contribute to violence are alcohol and drug abuse.  She said too that violence is “learned behaviour,” where children practice the abuse in adulthood after “being groomed in abusive situations.”

The children can also become aggressive in society after “having so much anger within them and waiting for a moment to explode.” She called on the students present to share what they have learnt with the friends and on the teachers to have sessions in school about domestic violence.
The administrator said too that girls are being exploited by men who shower them with gifts such as a pair of Nike boots and cell phones. She warned the children that they may fall into the traps of such men unknowingly and asked that parents check their school bags often and at random.

She announced the beginning of a 16-day activity on the issue which would end on December 10 and would include a forum for men on December 4.

Lagan expressed gratitude to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for supporting the ministry in terms of funding. “I want to thank the UNFPA for bringing us so far and I want them to continue,” she said.

A call has been issued for representatives of religious organisations, men’s and women’s groups, schools, police stations as well as to the abusers to “link hands and say no to all forms of violence” on and before December 10.

At the end of the seminar Lagan asked the participants to stand and link hands as they chanted “stop domestic violence now!”

Regional chairman Harrinarine Baldeo told the gathering that domestic violence should no longer be condoned and reiterated that women should speak out.

Also giving brief remarks at the seminar, which was chaired by chairman of the WAC, Sandra Mc Lean, were Regional Vice-Chairman KP Deokarran and Regional Councillor Carol Joseph.