Weller: Men have an important role in preventing violence

A workshop aimed at strengthening state accountability and community action for ending gender-based violence in the Caribbean commenced on Tuesday, May 10, at the Methodist Church Hall.{{more}}

According to Anton Caesar, Assistant Coordinator at the Department of Gender Affairs, the two-day workshop dealt with how men relate to men, and how men relate to women, and with members of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force as the target group.

The opening session dealt primarily with new recruits, and Wednesday’s session included senior ranking officers, with the objective of creating a space for men to have dialogue, Caesar told SEARCHLIGHT.

“We want to change how men think,” he explained, adding that the desired goal was for men to think about their roles in society and become more proactive.

Peter Weller, Chairman of the Caribbean Male Action Network (CARIMAN) and one of the workshops facilitators, said that while men are perpetrators of violence, they are also the victims, and they have an important role to play in preventing violence.

He explained that while men are part of the overall problem, they are not part of the problem solving process as they should be.

“Part of it is because men have not been involved in these types of discussions and have not been provided the opportunity for self examination,” Weller said.

And that was what the workshop was expected to bring about.

“This is not about you as policemen, but as individual men,” he told the participants on day one.

Eli Francis, Director of Social Development, in his presentation, said that while the Gender Division was working on promoting gender equality and empowering women, there was still much more to be done.

He opined that the majority of victims of violence are single parent mothers.

Francis further contended that despite the claim of male marginalization, men have a responsibility to change their situation.

“We have seen a number of opportunities for training and employment, but men are not making use of the opportunity,” he explained.