Solomon: Focus on violence against women

CAROL MATROO

THERE needs to be a specific focus on beginning to understand why there is so much violence against women in TT. Executive director of the Dispute Resolution Centre of TT and this country’s representative of the Commonwealth Network of Women Mediators, Elizabeth Solomon said the country must determine what were the triggers, what were the underlying root causes and what were the structural issues.

“Is it the education system? Is it the way we define the role of men in society, and the role of women? We need to invest heavily in that level of understanding. This country has given women an equal role in Parliament – we could do better, of course; but at the same time we can see there is a lot of anger towards women.

“The level of violence against women and children is scary. It is quite unusual. If you live in this country you are beginning to feel as if it is normal – and it is not normal. The level of violence, particularly against women, is abnormal and we need to address that,” Solomon said.

She was speaking to Sunday Newsday on Monday at the El Dorado East Secondary School, where she spoke to students on conflict prevention as they recognised Commonwealth Day. Soloman said while there might be adequate legislation in place to deal with the issue, it needed to be enforced.

“The main issue with enforcement I think has to do with the perception, and the people who are the enforcers have to really look at why do women not want to go to the police or to enter the courts.”

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"Solomon: Focus on violence against women"

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