Women’s rights advocate and general manager of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh is welcoming the public consultation on domestic violence being hosted by the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Legal Affairs (AGLA) today.
The consultation will take place at the Port-of-Spain Ballroom of Hyatt Regency Hotel and is part of the Government’s broader effort to prioritise the protection of domestic violence victims.
According to the AGLA website, the Criminal Justice Unit will lead the discussion, focusing on the gaps in the justice system’s ability to meet the needs of victims. Domestic violence, the statement noted, remains a scourge in society, disproportionately impacting women and girls.
Data from 2018 shows that 30 per cent of women in intimate relationships have experienced physical or sexual abuse from their partners. In March 2023, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh revealed that police received 6,250 domestic violence reports between March 2020 and March 2022, with most incidents involving intimate partners.
When asked about the importance of the public consultation, Mowlah-Baksh highlighted that numerous papers and reports on domestic and gender-based violence have been submitted to the State and other agencies over the years. While there is a wealth of documentation outlining what needs to be done, she stressed that the real challenge lies in applying the necessary human and financial resources to implement those recommendations. She added that proper training for protective and social service agencies is also essential.
“These are the three key areas—protecting survivors, bringing justice to survivors, and holding perpetrators accountable,” Mowlah-Baksh said. “We also need robust social services, particularly those tasked with responding to survivors of domestic violence.”
Mowlah-Baksh stressed the need for prevention, stating that significant efforts must be made to educate people about the harmful and unacceptable nature of such behaviour to truly address domestic violence in T&T.