Violence against women the real issue

Violence against women the real issue

Published: Guardian
Sunday, February 21, 2016

Last August I had the honour and privilege of being nominated and selected by the staff at US Embassy in T&T to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) for Women in the Political and Social Sectors, which took place over the last three weeks in the United States.

Amongst other things, the programme sought to address the burning and often neglected issue of gender-based violence defined by the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

Sadly, in T&T to date, this issue is not viewed as one of public importance and has virtually been swept under the carpet until the recent merciless killing of Japanese national Asami Nagakiya, and the subsequent comment by former Port-of-Spain mayor Raymond Tim Kee regarding women’s responsibility during Carnival to dress and behave responsibly “so they ensure that they are not abused.”

This raises two very important issues—the act of violence against women and society’s tendency to blame women who are the victims of violence. Whilst both issues are equally important, it is unfortunate following the discovery of the strangled, discarded body of Nagakiya, media headlines both here and abroad focused mainly on the controversial statements made by the then Port-of-Spain mayor and not also on the spiralling epidemic of violence against women, which in its worst form, claims the lives of many innocents in T&T on a yearly basis.

In the words of Michael E Miller of the The Washington Post, “Outrage over the crime, however, quickly shifted towards the city’s mayor after he suggested that by dressing in a revealing costume and dancing, Nagakiya was to blame for her own killing...” Which begs the question—if we leave our front door unlocked and place a welcome mat on our doorstep, does that invite a robber into our home?

Not surprisingly, no sooner had the comment been made, politicians on both sides of the political divide weighed in to score what can only be described as cheap political points. I say so because unfortunately, now the call for the mayor to resign has been answered, and rightfully so, the discussion of violence against women has once again gone cold even though in T&T, data related to gender-based violence shows homicides due to domestic violence are second only to gang murders.

In that light it is terribly disappointing that our leaders chose to limit their comments as to whether or not Mr Tim Kee should resign on one hand, and “victory of the people” on the other, without ever addressing the real issue. In a situation such as this, nobody wins unless and until our leaders are willing to address the issue of violence against women with the victims, NGOs and civil society groups, head on.

This is vitally important for us as a people because gender-based violence is one of the most insidious and prevalent problems affecting women in our country today. Throughout the world, it is estimated that one in three women will be raped, beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

In T&T, the statics show more than 12,000 new domestic violence applications were filed during the 2009/2010 law term and 11,984 new applications in the 2010/2011 law term. Yet sexual violence prevention efforts to date remain a low priority and receive few resources and little or no attention from the State. We need to start taking this issue seriously given prevalent patterns of abuse often end in death. There are far too many persistent complaints that reports of abuse are not taken seriously.

In doing so, it is critical we examine our culture, which promotes and accepts prejudiced attitudes about the role of women in our society, as well as the lasting effect of violence on children who suffer abuse at home.

Until then the violent death of any woman here will continue to be a great tragedy for this nation. Sexual violence may be epidemic, but it is not endemic. It is not a natural part of human development and an understanding of how it becomes a learned behaviour is the first step in creating a healthier and safer country.

www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-02-20/...t-women-real-issue-0