Concerned Region Two residents have called on the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to construct a safe home in the region for abuse victims.
The call was made during a panel discussion held on Tuesday afternoon at the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School auditorium.
The discussion was organised by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Gender Affairs Bureau and the Region’s Gender Affairs Committee in observance of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
During the discussion, participants were encouraged to offer support and comfort to victims of abuse and also to use the 914 hotline to report cases of domestic abuse. Both male and female participants called for a place where victims can go in the region.
Chairperson of the Regional Gender Affairs Committee, Verina Rasheed, has also been advocating for a shelter. “In Region Two we need to have a home where abused persons can go and feel safe, [where] they can be able to safely say they can sleep peacefully, [and] this home will provide more support to those who are abused,” Rasheed told the forum.
The panelists included Pastor Patrick Findlay, Chairman of the Support and Heal Network; Tanisha Williams-Corbin, Manager of the Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit, Darshanie Lall, Attorney–at-Law from Legal Aid, Hyma-wattie Lagan, Senior Gender Affairs Officer, and Michelle Small, Probation Officer.
Findlay also spoke on the prevalence of men suffering from abuse and efforts that the police are making to combat domestic violence. He also spoke on the signs of an abusive relationship.
Lall also spoke on various court orders and also said that the Legal Aid office is there to help persons suffering domestic violence. Lall also pointed out that abused persons can approach the clerk of court of any magistrate’s court and ask for them to fill up the orders as opposed to going to the police station. She said that the clerk of court would be able to fill the forms after which a police officer would be accompanied to serve the warrant.
Similar panel discussions were conducted at regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten. Participants called for similar discourses in the future.
