Violence against women seemed to have been the central focus when the United Workers Party (UWP) held its press conference this week.
The press conference, which was held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, comes sharp on the heels of the gruesome murder of Joy St Omer, a 24-year-old mother. Speaking on the issue, former UWP Laborie candidate Laura Jn. Pierre-Noel, was visibly emotional while recounting the many documented atrocities committed against women in St. Lucia. Jn. Pierre-Noel insisted that the task of ridding St. Lucia of injustices against women was not a one-person job but rather a task that must involve the entire nation. She challenged St. Lucians to play their part in the process. “And too often communities recognize the warning signs only after tragedy strikes. Families see distress, friends notice withdrawals, neighbours hear conflict, communities sense that something is wrong. But sometimes we dismiss it, sometimes we stay silent, sometimes we convince ourselves it’s none of my business. And then another life is lost.”
Former Central Castries MP and Speaker of the House, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, attempted a more direct approach to addressing the issue of crime. She was clear that the current policy on crime is not working and a new strategy needs to be adopted. “I think at this point we can say it is a fact that we have a serious problem with crime in our country. I think we can also say that the current approaches are not working. I think we can also agree that that is a fact. And if we agree that both of these facts exist, we can also agree that something differently needs to be done urgently.” Flood-Beaubrun’s advice to the Prime Minister was a complete overhaul of the justice system. She insisted that the answers to remedy the crime problem existed in the many reports that have been commissioned throughout the years.
Leo Titus Preville, UWP’s former Babonneau candidate, was also confident that the current administration must be held responsible for the current crime situation. He highlighted that since 1997 the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP)had been in office for 19 of the last 29 years while the UWP occupied only 10 years. While seemingly agreeing that the current administration had done quite a bit in facilitating the tools to fight local crime, he stressed that what was lacking was the required leadership which he said was lacking. Preville touched on a number of other areas including politicians buying votes which he acknowledges as a crime in itself. He was clear that politicians who engage in such practices are setting the stage for continued criminality.
Politicizing government positions is another area he identified as a hotbed for the facilitation of crime.