Tag Archives: Domestic violence

I shouldn’t have been surprised by the volume of responses to my last column on domestic violence and sexual abuse. They are obviously prevalent though we can only guess at the extent. Yet it takes a lot of courage for victims to speak out. It isn’t just the accompanying shame …

She was born into a Muslim family in 1910, growing up in a compound surrounded by relatives. She would have been around 17 when she was married off and sent to live far away from home. Her chosen husband was cruel, miserly and violent. To deny her direct access to …

“[…] In all the instances that we have dealt with as an organisation, they go back home to the situation. It is a cycle. It goes round and round…” In the following guest column, Groots T&T founder Delores Robinson speaks to journalist Robert Clarke: Delores Robinson took a late-night call. …

The police commissioner, in April 2020, estimated that domestic violence reports would double this year (232 in 2019 to 558 in 2020). This is consistent with what the UN calls the ‘shadow pandemic’—a global increase in domestic violence amid the Covid-19 health crisis.  ‘How do you reach out for help …

“[…] Attitudinal and behavioural changes won’t happen by vaps. We have serious work to do. For example, we must address the need for values/conscience formation and citizenship programmes—at home, in our educational institutions, in our faith communities, in our workplaces etc…” The following is a press statement from the Catholic …

Trinidad and Tobago lives on nervous energy. We are constantly rattled and are set talking, messaging and posting, prompted by extraordinary and usually negative events. At times, things happen so quickly that another event erupts into the headlines before the shock and full implications of an earlier one can be …

The labels ‘domestic abuse’ or even ‘intimate partner abuse’ do not capture the terror experienced by our women. The media has, this week, creditably stepped up in their responses. The Guardian led with a front-page editorial and, commendably, the Express put male leaders on the spot to state their position. …

John Lennon, the Beatle, in 1965, wrote these haunting lyrics: “You better run for your life if you can, little girl / Hide your head in the sand, little girl / Catch you with another man / That’s the end, little girl / Well, you know that I’m a wicked …

Not all women can run away, as advised by Singing Francine. They are treated worse than dogs. They are treated with vindictiveness. They are ‘owned’ and dare not challenge the man or seek to pursue their own decisions or rights. This week, we add Netanya Mohamdally to the list of …

Trinidadians are amazing people. Glorifying each raid led by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, we ignore his 21 November prophecy, in Chaguanas, of 100,000 new criminals in the next five years. “It is really important for us… to look at secondary crime prevention… If we do not deal with this …

“How casually the matter is reported, right alongside the business news. What amazes me is the fact that we have become so desensitised as a people that a woman can lose her life today and it is business as usual tomorrow.” The following letter, written by Roslyn Williams-George, is the …

“The latest research shows that men trace their right to beat women to patriarchal power over women, which they say, comes from religion and culture… Billions of—paid and unpaid—hours of training and education against domestic violence have not produced practical change. “[…] Although individuals have transformed and there is less …