Yesterday, we explored the issue of violence against women in T&T, and interviewed Carol Daniel, who is the founder and president of the NGO Caribbean Development Foundation (NCDF). The NCDF recently completed a five-year Violence Against Women campaign (2010-2014), resulting in its key document of recommendations called The Cascadia Protocol.
The document recommends better police training, a Domestic Violence Unit, state funding for women's shelters, mandatory counseling for offenders, and other key recommendations to help regional governments develop better, more effective policies to help women facing violence in the home.
The recommendations come from a wide consultation process with NGOs and other stakeholders across the Caricom region, done over several years. The Netherlands, The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded this Caribbean-wide consultation process.
The Cascadia Protocol has been adapted for different countries. The one for T&T was submitted to T&T government representatives in September 2014. So far, the T&T government has not formally responded to it.Today, we publish a summary of the key recommendations in the document.
The Cascadia Protocol can be downloaded from the NCDF Web site at: www.ngocaribbean.org.
Cascadia Protocol recommendations
�2 Sensitivity training. Train police and Family Circuit Court judges in how to deal with victims of domestic violence.
�2 Domestic Violence Unit. Create a Domestic Violence Unit in each police station. DVU police should be trained in how to investigate cases of sexual assault, including assault of children, as well as how to deal with domestic violence victims. DVU police officers should also have mandatory psychological counselling.
�2 Secure the shelters. Properly secure shelters for abused women and children, with 24-hour camera monitoring.
�2 Health sector. Have health workers do mandatory reporting of all suspected domestic violence cases.
�2 Create procedures. Develop a clear, standardised set of procedures to allow police, health, social and community workers to work with each other routinely and easily in domestic violence cases.
�2 Forensic nursing. Fund a tertiary level course in forensic nursing. Have at least one forensic nurse in every hospital emergency room.
�2 Collect data. Have a systematic, uniform system to collect data on domestic violence, to inform statistical analysis and understanding. Right now, there's no single system which does this well.
�2 Mandatory counseling for violent offenders. Where an order of protection against a potentially violent spouse or partner is issued by the court, an automatic order for mandatory counseling for the respondent should also be issued–to include a six-month anger management programme.
�2 Counseling for victims. Make counselling available for women, children, and any victims of violence in the home.
�2 Train mental health workers. Help them give better advice and help to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
�2 Educate youth. Introduce programmes for teens and young adults in secondary schools, to inform them of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in any intimate relationship.
�2 Witness protection programme. Create one specifically for domestic violence victims at risk of being hurt or murdered. In extreme cases, they could be relocated to another Caricom country.
�2 State funding of NGO-run shelters. Shelters run by NGO staff have much more commitment, flexibility, and experience in helping domestic violence victims than state bodies. So let them do it and provide help and funding.
(Compiled by SA, fromThe Cascadia Protocol, 2014)
What is domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse between partners is when one person in an intimate relationship tries to control or dominate the other. The abuser uses fear and intimidation and may threaten or actually use physical violence. Key elements are: intimidation, humiliation, and physical injury.
Domestic abuse can happen not just between partners (eg: between husband and wife, between unmarried partners living together, or between a gay couple); it also happens to children, elders, and others. Often, people who abuse their partners will also abuse the children or other vulnerable people in the home.
Under Section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act of T&T (1999), domestic violence includes "physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or financial abuse committed by a person against a spouse, child or any other person who is a member of the household or a dependant."
Domestic abuse is not a result of losing control; domestic abuse is intentionally trying to control another person. Domestic abuse can occur during a relationship, when a couple is breaking up, or after they have separated. (Sources: American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and the NCDF)
Domestic violence myths
�2 Domestic violence only happens in poor communities (not true; it happens across all classes).
�2 Some people deserve to be hit (no one deserves to be abused).
�2 Alcohol, drug abuse, stress, and mental illness cause domestic violence (they don't, though they may go along with it).
�2 Domestic violence is a personal problem between a husband and a wife (it's a national health problem, affecting entire families, national crime statistics, and future cycles of violence).
�2 If it were that bad, she would just leave. There are many reasons why women may not leave an abusive relationship, including love for their children, a lack of income, and psychological or mental health issues.
Also, the most dangerous time for a woman to be abused is when she tries to leave.
(Source: US Department of Justice 1995 National Crime Victim Survey)