Volunteers work against family violence
This month more than a hundred and fifty student volunteers are on a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness on the issues of Family Violence and Gender Inequality. Coordinated through the Women’s department, young men and women from secondary and tertiary schools from throughout Belize will be handing out pamphlets with user-friendly legal documents, inspirational material and an advertisement for Zero Tolerance Day to be celebrated on November twenty-fifth. According to the Women?s Department’s Nikki Tillett, the overall goal of the programme is to reduce the instances of violence against Belize’s women through personal one on one contact.
Nikki Tillett, Human Development Coordinator, Women?s Department
?We don?t want them to bombard people with too much information because they only received basic training. So what they are going to do is just go out, inform a member of the household that the Women?s Department is issuing these information packets and that if they have any questions they can ask the students. The students are going to be accompanied by someone from the office along with probably a police officer to ensure their safety. What we want them to do is just briefly inform them that November twenty-fifth is Zero Tolerance Day and we are having a rally at the Battle Field Park and if they enjoy the information that they received that they can come out and support the event. ?
?Last year we had about twelve hundred sixty-eight persons reporting in family violence. Whenever we do presentations, you always hear people talking about–women especially–feeling unequal to men in the workplace and it comes form all spectrums. You have grass roots men who complain of being sexually harassed. Then you have women in cooperate Belize who also mention these things. So we are a long from having gender equality. I think one things is people don?t report a lot of times and that?s why we choose breaking the silence so people can recognize that the only way you can get yourselves out of this situation is that if you break the silence and talk about it. .?
Activities marking International Zero Tolerance Day will be held at the Battlefield Park in Belize City starting at three in the afternoon on November twenty-fifth and will include a candlelight vigil.
