Opposition Leader Godwin Friday used a speech on Saturday — International Women’s Day — to urge the strict enforcement of laws intended to protect women and children from abuse.
“There are laws on the books. Some may say that they are not strong enough, that they could be done better, but even the ones that are there now are not being properly policed and properly enforced,” he said at the “Elect Her” conference in Kingstown.
The conference was organised by the Women’s Arm of the New Democratic Party (NDP), which Friday leads.
The opposition leader said that a lot of the enforcement issues have to do with the attitudes of the criminal justice system, law enforcement officers and the society.
He said that sometimes “various other considerations” take precedence over the health and welfare of people who are molested.
“They are swept under the carpet. They are made up in some deal, as though that could repair the damage,” Friday said.
“The only thing that will fix the problem is if you confront it head on and those who are guilty of offences that they’re held accountable and that as a society, we adopt a zero-tolerance policy, not just in our laws but in our practice, in the way in which we enforce our laws.”
He told the event at his party’s headquarters, Democrat House, on Murray’s Road that domestic violence is prevalent in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
“I want to see a better place for us all to live in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Friday said, adding that this goes beyond getting a job and an education.
“It also means being valued when you apply for a job. It also means being valued when you’re in a job and you perform that you get the recognition and promotion that you deserve,” the opposition leader said.
“It also means being valued and promoted for your work; not for the way you look and how accommodating you are to somebody who has the authority to promote you.”
He said victims of domestic violence often stay with their abuser and some law enforcement officers have a tendency to dismiss domestic violence as a family matter or say that the parties would work it out.
“It’s a situation that we really ought to become more urgent, less prone to making excuses, and to be more vigilant in uncovering and seeing, keep our eyes open and seeing when these things happen, and to be a part of the enforcement mechanism, that is something that we all must do as a society.”
Friday said that the NDP is committed to dealing with “these very pervasive problems that are confronting women and girls in our country”.
He said that part of the problem is that there is no facility where victims of domestic violence can go until they find more permanent accommodation.
He said domestic violence is often a repeated situation that ends with someone being killed or severely injured.
‘And before that happens, there ought to be other pathways that we as a society provide to the women and young women and girls who have been victims of domestic violence. That is a commitment that we in the New Democratic Party will give to the country. There will be more of these facilities,” the opposition leader said.
He urged conference attendees to vote against the Unity Labour Party in the next general elections, which are widely expected later this year.
“Get rid of this government that over 24 years in office has not improved the situation for women in this country.”
The government conducted a poverty assessment in 2018 but did not publish the data, saying that it had been contaminated.
However, Friday quoted the report as saying that 36.1% of the population was considered poor, up from 31% a decade earlier. During the same period, indigence rose from 3% to 11.3%.
He quoted the report as saying:
“Women comprise a larger share of the poor population. Among women, the headcount was 41.6% were considered poor, which is 10.4 percentage points higher than the male headcount, which is 31.2%.”
The opposition leader commented:
“So, you see that women bear the brunt of poverty, and not by a small amount.”
Friday added that the report said that children are more at risk of being in poverty because women generally raise children, and families that are headed by one person tend to be poorer.
“The point that we’re making is that we have a lot of work to do. We have made that commitment in the New Democratic Party, that we are going to transform the economic base of this country so that everybody rises,” Friday said.
He said the NDP is committed to meritocracy throughout Public Service and promotion in the private sector, “which means everybody has an equal opportunity based on their ability to rise as well”.
He said the NDP has also committed to ensuring that education and skills training is available.
“I want to see young women doing non-traditional jobs,” he said, noting that there is a lot of money to be made in the trades.
“Women think about these jobs seriously. … the training is going to be available under an NDP government to ensure that you have access to what is required for you to engage in those jobs.
“This is going to help to give greater independence to women. It’s going to deal with the poverty situation among our women, it’s going to help in situations of domestic violence,” he said, noting that in her presentation at the event, lawyer Zita Barnwell said that one of the reasons why women stay in abusive relationships is economic.
“But of course, if you’re making your own money, if you make the choice and say, Listen, enough of that. Too long inna that as somebody said earlier. We’re moving on,” Friday said.
“So, my dear people, we have policy positions that we’ve adopted to deal with the serious problems confronting women and girls in our society, but as a party as well, we have to demonstrate with our own organisation that we are making progress in that regard…”
Friday noted that the NDP has two women candidates in the next general elections.
“We have candidates who have put their hand up knowing the treacherous waters in which they swim in this politics of St. Vincent and the Grenadines…
“They have tremendous support in their constituencies. They’re going to win their seats, and they going to help us to form government,” he said, adding that none of this would make a difference unless people vote for a change in government.
“… I’m so proud that these two women are part of that team because I know that they will deliver in the individual constituency. They do it now, and they’re not even in government. They’re doing more than the elected representatives with their respective constituency…” Friday said.
Empower women in Politics. They are not power hungry; And we will get us out from under the yoke of Western dominance. They will make us self-sufficient. This is what the great Bob Marley was talking about. This is what the great Marcus Garvey was speaking about. This is what the great Malcom meant. When we continue to do everything by hand, fisheries and Agriculture. Our youth is being squandered, our people are wallowing in poverty. The white don’t even recognize your diploma’s.
About fifty percent of the population of any country consist of women and girls. That is a large chunk of people in to ignore their rights.
Those who failed to enforce the laws to support women and girls. Fail to appreciate. They have mothers and grandmothers. Wives and daughters. They have sisters and they have female friends.
Women and girls consist of about fifty percent of the population of SVG. That is a large chunk of the population.
Those who failed to implement the laws to get justice for women and girls. Generally, men must be aware. That they have mothers and grandmothers. Wives and daughters. Girlfriends, partners.
They have female friends. They are letting down their own people.
Women and girls’ rights must be upheld.