Kamla:Tougher action needed to end violence against women

In commemoration of the United Nations International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women 2019, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Monday called for tougher action to end violence against women.

Persad-Bissessar said in a release that the adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences of violence against women and girls affect women at all stages of their lives.

"We must act to prevent this from happening, not only in our homes and communities but our entire nation.

"The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as 'any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.'"

Persad-Bissessar said the effects of gender-based violence leave many permanent physical and physiological scars on women and girls.