International Women’s Day, recognised the world over as an important day for women became extra special in Saint Lucia, as it was on this day (yesterday) the much called for Domestic Violence Bill finally got tabled in parliament.
And according to proponents of the bill – many of whom were outside parliament, should it become law, it would be the best domestic violence piece of legislation in the region.
Gender Affairs Minister Virginia Albert-Poyotte (PhD) described the bill as life changing and said it will introduce a new culture in Saint Lucia. She described it as ‘a gift to women.’
Speaking outside the House of Parliament yesterday, the minister stated “Today is a big day for women in Saint Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean. We are actually setting the pace (and) by getting this Domestic Violence Bill into this House we can reduce domestic violence. Our women who have been the greatest victims of domestic violence will get a sigh of relief.”
Albert-Poyotte said that government will ensure that the right mechanisms are in place “so that we have a new culture where we can live in a society free of violence.”
“The theme for International Women’s Day talks about gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow so we are saying that if there is gender equality we have a greater chance of obtaining sustainability in our society. Sometimes we do things just for the short term, but we have to look at things on a long term (basis) where we will have men and women side by side making equal contributions,” the minister said.
Senator Lisa Jawahir in an interview with The VOICE noted that the presentation of the Domestic Violence Bill is extraordinary and said girls, women and even men now have sufficient information and resources to keep them protected.
According to her, this is a critical move for Saint Lucia and the tabling of the bill sends a strong message to international partners.
“I am extremely happy that we are finally seeing the passing of the Domestic Violence Bill. I know under the previous administration it sat on their desk for a couple of years and this time around the Saint Lucia Labour Party believes that it was absolutely important to pass this bill in our first year of government. We are seeing more empowerment of our law enforcement agencies, we are seeing the opportunities for women to file their cases,” Jawahir said.
She explained that as a gender champion for the Commonwealth, “It is absolutely significant. It (shows) international partners that we are on the right track to ensuring that we continue to create opportunities to achieve sustainable goal #5 which is reducing domestic violence, eliminating it altogether and of course creating opportunities to empower our women and girls.”
Jawahir also stressed on the importance of unity, urging individuals to put their political differences aside to celebrate the momentous occasion, which she noted, affects all individuals.
“I really hope that Saint Lucians across all party lines can come together to understand that this is bigger than an individual party. It impacts our women and girls (and) persons across all genders. We have several organizations joining us today to witness the passing of the bill like Catherine Sealys from ‘Raise Your Voice St. Lucia Inc.’, Miss Felicia Brown—a lot of our advocates who have been lending their voices to ending violence especially against women and girls. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to even be here and I look forward to my contribution on Thursday in the senate,” Jawahir said.
Whilst noting that the tabling of the bill is a step in the right direction, Sealys said more has to be done.
“I think it is an important milestone that has been achieved. It’s not everything but it is the first step towards gender equality in Saint Lucia to provide better protection for women and children,” Sealys said, adding that the bill is gender neutral therefore it covers everybody; men, women, children and the LGBT community.
“We believe enacting this bill on International Women’s Day speaks to the fact that we have a more progressive administration that is a little more leaning towards gender equality. We think that it is a mark of respect for women. We think that with the bill we will not get everything we want, however, we must create an environment where people are trained. We must create an environment where people are taking their jobs seriously,” Sealys said.
She noted that the previous bill had put a lot of responsibility on victims who had to agree to go to court, press charges and “agree to do everything.”
“This bill gives the police all the power they need to take action as long as they have the information and they have proof that an incident had occurred.
“We hope the government will go one step further in ensuring that front-liners who provide services are properly trained, are the right people with the right attitude for this kind of job, and we do not continue to hear the revictimization of victims of gender based violence within the social services agencies, Sealys said, adding that more legislative reform has to be done for Saint Lucia to acquire gender equality.