National Council of Women speaks again on Violence

The National Council of Women has issued a statement in the wake of continuing acts of violence in communities across the state. The following is the text of the statement:

The National Council of Women extends sincere condolences to the family, friends, well-wishers of the victims and to the communities which have been affected by these acts of violence.

We condemn all manner of violence against our women girls and by extension our men in the country.

We were not born with that ability to hate and to hurt, therefore, we should educate our children at a very early age. This should be done by example and in theory that abuse or violence in any form is unacceptable and should be condemned.

We can do more in our education system. We should teach our children how to de-escalate unfavourable situations. We should teach them problem solving and conflict resolutions skills.

It is time that we indoctrinate a culture of love, peace and kindness in the holistic development of our children. Words do hurt, and the belief that sticks and stones may break bones, but words can never hurt is deceptive.

Too many of our men and women leave this world in unfavourable circumstances because of venomous words spewed.

We see hateful thoughts being acted out and it is disturbing to see our men being gunned down mercilessly, leaving a mother, a wife and children behind to struggle emotionally and financially. It is further disturbing when our women and girls are killed gruesomely by an intimate partner under the disguise of love.

The National Council of Women strongly condemns all acts of violence against women and girls. Love should be a safe place. According to the UN, almost, one in three women around the world become subject to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. This implies that we all know a woman and probably more who have been abused in their lifetime and this urgently needs to change. We commend the efforts being made by the Government, the Court and the numerous NGOs fighting against this scourge, but more can be done.

We cannot be a society that remains silent and condones violence, we must be promoters of change. This is a human rights issue; it is the responsibility of all. We must find ways to eliminate this scourge which continues to plague our society.

With the availability of new technology there is growing concern with revenge porn, sextortion and non-consensual intimate image abuse.

Technology must not be used to propagate abuse; it must be used to be champions of change!

We demand respect, decency and support for our women and girls. We must ensure that those who are sworn to protect us, honour their responsibilities. Our institutions which were designed for the social wellbeing must work for us. Reported matters should not be trivialized as this could cause victims to feel that the support systems have failed them.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are faced with the burden of violence, and rising crimes are driving a dangerous and unstable society. Health and economics is relevant for a better society, however, we need to be safe and to be free from fear, we need protection of our human rights and the right to holistic development. By strengthening our value systems, aligning policies and empowering our people, we can build a stronger, violent-free society that secures a safer future for all.

As a measure of hope for our women, I will end with a quote from the Executive Director, Sima Bahous, “Women remain our largest and most reliable constituency for peace, it is impossible for them to carry this agenda alone”.

May peace reign from shore to shore, and God bless and keep us true.