Other News

A US State Department report has revealed that "Bajan men like to beat women".

The report said that from the Bahamas, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago to Jamaica and Belize, the problem was the same: women were being physically and sexually abused by their spouses.

In its annual report on global human rights, the State Department told members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Washington that women in Barbados who were victims of sexual assaults, domestic violence, incest and rape were "often reluctant to report such incidents".

However, the report noted that several initiatives were under way. The initiatives included public and private counselling services for victims; restraining orders; and a new shelter for battered women costing approximately $400,000. The Business and Professional Women’s Club, an affiliate of the National Organisation of Women, runs a crisis centre with 30 trained counsellors, legal and medical referral services and a hotline for women.

Despite alle these initiatives, the major stumbling block remains the lack of sentencing guidelines for judges and magistrates. Example - petty theft results in a stiffer penalty than incest, the report said.

In September 2000, several low-income and marginalised women in Belize will begin a skills-training programme in areas that are traditionnally offered to men.

Under the "Non-traditional Training for Women Project," women will begin training in construction, woodworking/furniture, manufacturing, automotive mechanics and computer servicing and repairs.

Training will be done through the Centre for Employment Training, in Belize City, and other technical training institutions throughout the country. The Belize Organisation for Women and Development (BOWAND) will offer support services and non-technical training in areas such as time management, problem-solving and self-employment skills.

The project is expected to last for 36 months and will cater for four classes of 50 women. In Belize, the project is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ministry of Education and Sports. Other countries involved in the project are Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Delcina Bean-Burrows has been appointed executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre (WRC). She heads a staff of eight and some volunteers.

WRC is a registered charity that provides free legal advice as well as counselling, primarily to women who have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.

In her first interview since assuming office earlier this year, Bean-Burrows says "our key message in prevention is for people to empower themselves to move away from abusive situations and relationships". She says there is an urgent need to heighten community awareness of the centre and the work it does.

The Dominica parliament elected attorney Alix Boyd-Knight as speaker of the House of Assembly on 17 April - the third woman to become so in its history.

Boyd-Knight was elected by a majority vote at the start of the first meeting of Parliament, since January’s election of the new coalition Dominica Labour Party (DLP) - Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) government.

She follows in the footsteps of former Public Officer Marie Davis-Pierre and Social Worker Neva Edwards , ex-president of the Dominica National Council of Women, who presided over sittings of the House of Assembly during the 15-year rule of the Dominica Freedom Party.

Female candidates in Dominica’s recent elections were: Laureen Bannis-Robert (United Worker’s Party (UWP), Jacqueline Theodore (Dominica Labour Party (DLP), Gertrude Roberts (United Workers Party (UWP) and Doreen Paul (UWP).

Before elections, the Dominica National Council of Women had encouraged voters to scrutinise the "lifestyle" of candidates. They were also advised to ensure that women issues were included in the projected plans of candidates.

Women Working for Transformation (WWT), a newly formed lobby group is planning a Millennium March of Women to reaffirm their commitment to transformation, sustainable development, love and peace.

The group already has a weekly radio programme, "Sister Vibes", which was launched on January 5, 2000, at the urban community station, Roots 96.1FM. It reaches the urban centres of Kingston, St. Andrews, St.Catherine and St. Thomas.

Out of a special meeting on December 28, 1999, thirty "dynamic" women are now actively involved in the development of WWT’s programme and policies. The gour programme areas are training and leadership development; public education; lobbying and advocacy; and support for community-based transformation processes.

The specific goal of WWT is to act as a catalyst for the development of a mass movement to transform Jamaican society. One way they plan to do this is by "moving women who are transfromational leaders into positions of power."

A New York support group has also been formed - WWT USA.

Youths participating in the 11th Annual Junior Parliamentary Debate have called for stiffer penalties for sexual offenses against a minor.

"Governor" Sauricio Mills said "sexual abuse of minors have been ever present in all our communities but it has been shamelessly hidden, even by parents. Gross acts of indecency have been covered up in the name of family honour and the shattered victims have lived with those shameful scars".

Mills noted that "weaknesses in our legal system have lead to the perpetuation and increase of the scourge..."

The debate was held on March 13, 2000, on Commonwealth Day, in South Caicos.