“Across the region, approximately 11% of the survey respondents of both sexes reported experience with domestic violence,” the report noted. For Trinidad and Tobago, the rate was 8.3%. Across the seven Caribbean countries surveyed, the average injury rate for men was 6.7% and 10.7% for women. Domestic or spousal abuse …
Read More »Dear Editor: Why is the media glossing over Watson Duke’s sexual assault charges?
“[…] What is most worrisome is the media’s purposeful glossing over of Watson Duke’s history. I cannot be the only one aware of his four indecent assault charges and one rape charge. It churns my stomach. “As a woman, how can I be comfortable with this? How is the victim …
Read More »CRFP: T&T’s battle against gender-based violence should recognise its colonial roots
“[…] Luisa Calderon and Thisbe […] lived through the foundational violence of colonialism which shaped not only the vulnerabilities that they had to negotiate in their time but those that women must still navigate today. And both women experienced terror at the hands of the same celebrated colonial icons: Governor …
Read More »The problem with ‘choosing your men wisely’ in T&T’s cutass, misogynistic, mentally ill culture
“[…] Our pre-colonial ancestors never beat our children. You are not supposed to use violence against those weaker than you. “We learned that crap from our enslavers and colonial masters, with their bullying, might is right culture. Ever since, we have been rearing bullies and their victims. “We teach so …
Read More »Noble: ‘Good guys’ and closed doors—how abusers operate
‘The things that happen to people we will never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets’ — Lee Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird. This quote came back to life this week as we tried to digest the horrors of domestic violence in our land. We attempt …
Read More »Early Bird: Absence of malice, presence of mind and our women’s false sense of security
Fo’daymorning. There are three of them, walking side-by-side. From 30 or 40 yards away as I stride southwards along my street, I see them going west towards the park. I pay no particular attention. My mind is far. Moments before leaving home at 5.30am, I saw an overnight WhatsApp question: …
Read More »‘Strange fruit’ in Heights of Aripo; time to address our women’s pandemic of pain and powerlessness
“[…] The Heights of Aripo has long been used by criminals to dispose of bodies and evidence. In a bid to turn their neighbourhood into an unsafe haven for the criminals, the poor, frightened residents are requesting assistance and basic amenities. Nothing fancy, just streetlights, a police post and, maybe, …
Read More »Noble: ‘She made me do it’—T&T society is taught to distrust women; we see the bloody results
The news was blunt but not unexpected. The lead sentences (Express, 9 December 2021) calmly reported, ‘Shadie Dassrath was beaten to death in an apartment in La Romaine last Friday morning. An autopsy done on the body of the 31-year woman found she died of blunt force trauma and sustained …
Read More »Noble: Impossible demands of men and condoned cruelty against women—domestic violence’s toxic mix
Nobody goes on a second date if, on the first one, they got slapped around. The woman (it is more often a woman) does not realise that they are in an abusive relationship until it is late. The abuser sets the honey trap, seducing the unsuspecting victim into believing that …
Read More »Demming: Stag can and should do better in its ‘move-men-to-respect’ campaign
How does one step back from the bold misogynistic claim of being ‘The Man’s Beer’? Do you flip the script and position yourself as being anti-violence against women? Do you attempt to engage womenfolk and position yourself as our protector by communicating repeated images of male power and strength smashing glasses …
Read More »Demming: Gov’t must act on sexual harrassment and gender-based violence
Womantra and 2Cents movement have both survived firestorms of social media criticism that they allegedly mishandled accusations of either sexual harassment, gender-based violence or sexual grooming perpetrated by persons in positions of leadership. Ironically, both organisations are engaged in much-needed work that can fundamentally change our cultural landscape, but they …
Read More »Dear Editor: Women must point the way to sustainable progress
“[…] Demand, by collective action, radical, positive, permanent change. And that change is not just around gender-based violence, but in every community and institution in the land, be it the legal, political or social system … “[…] Who must decide what is progress and the sustainable road to such? I …
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