People, not Aliens, hurting women
JANELLE DE SOUZA
Sunday, December 11 2016
.It is people they know, not aliens from outer space, who are abusing women, Minister of the State in the Ministry of Gender and Child Affairs, Ayanna Webster- Roy declared yesterday.
It is co-workers, friends, neighbours, and relatives who committing these heinous acts.
“The perpetrators, the people who are coming in to steal, to hurt, to kill and destroy, they are not Martians... They live with us, they eat with us, they walk among us.
They are our brothers, our fathers, our uncles, our sons, our daughters, our sisters, our mother. They are the people right among us who are causing the hurt and pain,†she said.
Webster-Roy was speaking yesterday at the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service’s distribution of care packages for offenders at the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca, to commemorate International Human Rights Day as well as the end of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, which started on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25.
She assured female prisoners, those convicted and on remand, that they still had the rights of every other human being on the planet, including the right to be loved, respected, nurtured, valued, and cared for, regardless of the mistakes they made, or the reasons why they were in prison.
“I want to give you my commitment to do all in my power to ensure that I work with a government that works towards reducing the incidents of violence against women and the vulnerable in society,†she said. She acknowledged the work of the NGOs who “help to prop up society†and bring about needed changes when government lapsed.
Webster-Roy also pointed out that some men had approached her to say that men experience violence as well. “We are not saying that we don’t value the rights of men. We are saying we live in a society where we should all have access to equal opportunities, equal rights of being valued.
Unfortunately, our women, a vulnerable sector of society, do not get to celebrate those rights in the same way as men do,†she had to explain to them.
She admitted there was a limit to what Government and NGOs could do. She asked the prisoners to do all they could do to train their children to be good citizens, and to live the best they could live, not tearing down anyone. “It calls for each and every citizen to look inside, to see how we could do better, be better and value the human rights of each and every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago,†she said.
Noting that the past few days had been very difficult emotionally and spiritually, she asked that the movement of acting and speaking against violence in all forms be a continuous one, and not go in the way of “talk in TT lasts nine days and done.†She asked that the country stand in unity, put aside pride, position, political allegiances, race, and other divisions, and speak out against violence.
“If we all start speaking out and saying it’s wrong together, trust me, God will do the rest and we could bring about the change that we want in Trinidad and Tobago,†she said.
