With 13 of the 54 women murdered in 2023 because of gang violence, criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad says it was not surprising as there has been an increase in women and girls joining criminal gangs.
Speaking to Guardian Media last Friday, Seepersad said gang intelligence data showed women and girls playing advisory roles in the gangs. He said information suggested that T&T can soon have female-dominated or predominant gangs, which already exist in other Caribbean countries.
The country lost 57 women to murder in 2022, with 15 the result of Domestic Violence (DV).
Now 2023 data from the Police Service’s (TTPS) Crime and Problem Analysis Branch showed that gang-related murders of women were almost equal to those who died from DV. There were also eight revenge murders, five involving altercations, four drug-related, three associated with robberies, seven unknown and one undisclosed. There were 14 women murdered between ages 31-40, 10 between 41-50 and nine between 21-30. Murderers took the lives of five teenagers, a six-year-old girl and five women over 60. Up until last month, police were still investigating 36.
“What we are seeing in adult gangs is that women are playing a more significant role, whereas they would have played a very peripheral role in the past. Now, you are seeing women coming up as advisors, women being used in transhipping drugs and hiding weapons, but playing a more advisory or senior capacity in gangs,” Seepersad said. He noted that past data indicated most female murders were DV-related, while gang violence mostly affected males. He said data collected from Caribbean schools in 2016/2017 and 2023/2024 showed a disturbing trend among Form Four and Form Five students who responded to questions in a USAID study on whether they were members of a gang. It showed an increase in the percentage of youth self-reporting as gang members.
“We are also seeing the female students in school self-reporting that they are in gangs, much higher than we would have anticipated at all. In fact, in some countries in the region, they are almost running neck to neck with the males.”
The criminologist said if students are in gangs, there is a high chance they are not performing well in school and will continue the gang life after school.
More decisive action on Domestic Violence
With 13 Domestic Vionce deaths in 2023, Seepersad said there are a lot of drivers, such as economic dependency and drug use. However, educating the public about DV is necessary, as people sometimes have limited problem-solving scope and often see it as a way in which things must be done.
“One of the things that need to happen as well is that law enforcement needs to play a greater role when it comes to domestic violence. Unfortunately, one of the things we see in the Caribbean region is that, culturally, we shy away from wanting to deal with it. We also know people involved in relationships and domestic violence is happening, and we say, ‘You know, that is husband and wife business. I do not want to get involved,’ and we do nothing.” Seepersad said the police, as part of society, possess the same cultural norms, so despite domestic violence being illegal, officers are typically reluctant to take action. Because there are few consequences for engaging in DV, he said some people do it with impunity.
WINAD: Armed violence a spillover of DV
Executive director of Women’s Institute for Alternative Development, Folade Mutota, said people must come to terms with the extent of how violence in the private space fuels those in the public. Mutota said DV was about power and control, so one partner commits a crime because he believes he has a right.
Mutota said armed violence was also about power and control. Whether it is law enforcement officers, drug barons, pastors, or politicians, she said once a person has a gun, it increases their concept of power. She said it was not by chance that so many people apply for Firearm User Licences (FUL). Not only that, but she said FUL holders were even threatening women in their homes, some even putting firearms under their pillow.
“Domestic Violence and armed violence are cut from the same cloth. It is about power and control. Unless we deal with the level of violence experienced in the home and families, whether it is child sexual abuse, elder abuse, or violence against women. It is going to be tricky for us to put a handle on the armed violence in the streets. It is a spillover,” Mutota said.
She welcomed the TTPS statistics but said it needs more specific data.
