Senator calls on women to liberate themselves

A plea has been made by Senator Rochelle Forde for women to liberate themselves from abusive relationships.

Senator Forde, who was addressing the gathering at the 2007 Annual National Conference on Women on Tuesday, July 31 at the Peace Memorial Hall, emphasised that too many women were silent victims of domestic violence.{{more}}

The parliamentarian called on women to put an end to mental, emotional and physical abuse and reminded them that they deserved the best.

She forcefully stated, “It is perceived that to speak out will be a sign of weakness – so they (women) continue to take the abuse in the night and walk head up in the day. Invariably, the perpetrators of these acts of violence are often threatened by the growth, ambition and success of their partners – they are the real weaklings.”

Senator Forde, who is also a lawyer by profession advised abused women not to take the law into their own hands but said that it was vital for them to make “formal complaints” to the police so that their abuser could be removed or so that they could get the assistance to leave themselves.

She said that to stay in a brutal relationship because of the “perceived” shame of what the public thinks and says was to “self-destruct and fail in all the victories that women would have scored in the man’s world.” Forde called on abused women to draw from the strength of other victimized women who have walked out of destructive relationships and have made it in life.

On the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace, Forde said women needed to stand up against their counter parts who offered higher positions in return for sexual favours.

Turning the tables on women, she lashed out against women who chose men with no ambition to be their partners. She elaborated, “Mothers, stop making excuses for your lazy sons, young women stop supporting and minding men who have no ambition. There may be the instance that you find yourself in a more economically advantaged position than your mate or your son and there is nothing wrong with offering some assistance, provided that he is making strides to improve upon his own situation and better become your equal.”

On the political scene, Senator Forde said that compared with the United States; women in the Caribbean were at the forefront in terms of leadership roles. She noted that while Nancy Pelosi is now the first US female Speaker of the House of Representatives, this country already had female Deputy Speakers in former Senator Juliet George and now herself. Forde also pointed out that while America is waiting to see if Senator Hillary Clinton would be in the running for the US presidency, the Caribbean already had female leaders such as Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Portia Simpson Miller of Jamaica. (SG)