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DEBATE continued on Tuesday on the private members’ motion brought by Senator Paul Richards on deficiencies in current systems to deal with incidences of violent crimes against women and girls.
Government Senator Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing said she did not think there was anyone in the chamber who had not been affected by such violence. She said while government is trying to do its part, it can’t just be about the State, CSOs and NGOs. She said parents play a large role.
“Someone told me about a family where it is known that fathers take the virginities of their daughters. How do we re-engineer and move away from these destructive norms. My daughter goes to a co-ed school and they have strong anti-bullying and male mentoring programmes.
"Schools should have counsellors available, we have to do better for their children. Also, there is no shame in going to counselling. This pandemic has made us realise that psychosocial and mental health are important,” she said.
Independent Senator Maria Dillon-Remy said society doesn’t look at the causes of violence, but chooses to apply plasters to the symptoms.
She said fixing the law is only one part of the problem. She referred to a World Health Organization programme called RESPECT which lists strategies on dealing with violence against women and girls.
“R is for relationship skills strengthening; E is empowerment of women and girls to know their strengths; S is for services such as reporting, counselling, etc; P is for (reduction of) Poverty; E is for enabling environments, especially in public spaces, where people are taught and women, men, children, people are respected; C is for children and adolescents; and T is for transforming attitudes and norms.
"I endorse these strategies as changes won’t happen overnight but in stages. Changing this situation requires a multi-disciplinary approach which puts in place programs that emphasise prevention and condemnation of all violence.”
Temporary Opposition Senator Renuka Rambhajan said she was struck that it took a man to stand up and say something about the situation before the debate was begun. She said every single part of society needs to address combatting violence against women.
“If the police had the resources they need to properly police, would there be less violence? Probably. The majority of police officers are men who have built-in prejudices. I have heard stories of women going to make reports and being told to go home and make roti.
"Do we have programmes to deal with men who have anger issues, to deal with toxic masculinity and men who feel they are losing their identity as providers? There is also violence against women by other women. What resources can they access? What options are there for children who are abused, other than counselling, to make sure they can be productive members of society and not abusers.”
Rambhajan said there were no placement options for long-term rehabilitation of victims of crime. She said there also needed to be more of a focus on assisting victims of violence so they don’t go back to the situation. She said women should take the opportunity to speak up and have their voices heard now, as there has never been a period where more people are listening.
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