Home – “The most unsafe place for women” WHY?

Yesterday, the United Nations launched its annual campaign entitled “16 days of Action against gender- based violence”.

This campaign is conducted each year, running from November 25 up until December 10, Human Rights Day around the world. It is part of the global campaign for the elimination of violence against women and girls.

Shockingly, statistics from UN agencies paint a grim picture of this grisly side of male actions to enforce superiority against women. The statistics reveal that nearly one out of every three women and girls at some point in their lifetime suffers either physical or sexual abuse. In all too many cases, the situation leads to what is now called “femicide”.

It is most distressing to note that according to the global statistics,in 2023 alone, there were 51,000 femicide victims worldwide. Worse, half of these murders were carried out by either intimate partners (including husbands) of the victims, or by family members. It has led to the frightening conclusion that the home, for many women, is the most unsafe place to be.

Why should this be so? Surely this must be unacceptable in any society. If one cannot be safe at home, assured of protection from physical and sexual abuse, where else can a woman be safe? Worryingly, though this is a worldwide phenomenon. There are regions of this world where the situation is most prevalent. Outdated norms and beliefs of male superiority and their “right” to physically punish women for any transgressions, real or imagined, still prevail in today’s world, including here in St Vincent and the Grenadines-SVG. Alongside those backward views is the acceptance by all too many females of this supposed male “right”. We are happy to hear the new Minister of National Mobilisation with responsibility for Women’s affairs, Keisal Peters, make the appeal for support for this worthy campaign. It is a campaign to which we should all give our full support. That includes the media- social media being no exception. But as we think of making the campaign more effective, what about more united action?

For instance, in Parliament, our highest representative body, would a joint appeal by all female members of the House of Assembly, including the Speaker, political representatives on both sides, and the female administrative employees give more weight to such a call?

Then what about the various sectors of the society?

Joint calls by female leaders and representatives of such bodies as trades unions, business and professional organisations, farmers, youth, and civil society, indicating a united and determined call for action to eradicate this scourge? Calls from doctors and nurses who have to deal with the victims of such attacks, the female officers of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force of the Judiciary, Teaching Profession and above all, the religious community- many still trapped in wrongful interpretations of scripture regarding male superiority- would all add weight to the effectiveness of such a campaign.

We can go on and on, for the consequences are horrendous. The so-called jokes by men, especially in the media and in song, which ignore the harm done to women, and encourage physical and sexual abuse, must also come under scrutiny.

The situation is dire as the world has witnessed in recent years by Kenyan men, for whatever personal reasons, going so far as to murder their partners who were global athletes. Home cannot be unsafe for our women and girls. It is our duty to prevent that.