Children suffer most in a violent society

It may be one of the activities in connection with Women’s Week, but the issue of violence in our society is not confined to one gender. News Five’s Jacqueline Woods reports.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The presentation by the Police Drama Club may have brought smiles and laughter to many of these students faces, but the reality is that a large number of children across the country are living in violent situations at home; the innocent victims of a seemingly growing problem.

Dorla Rosado, Programme Director, Haven House
?From a personal perspective, it is alarming. Domestic Violence is alarming, it is not tapering off. The other violence that we see in the community does not seem to be tapering off and all we can do is to continue to fight.?

Dorla Rosdao is the Programme Director for Haven House, a shelter for abused women. Rosado says children are vulnerable to all forms of violence including domestic abuse and crime. This large array of weapons taken off the streets of Belize City alone and these pictures of battered women are frightening reminders of problems happening in neighbourhoods and homes.

Liz Longsworth, Chair, Yabra Citizens Dev. Committee
?It?s a fight against crime and violence and everybody need to know crime and violence is everybody?s business because it di afflict Belize, the whole country.?

Haven House and partner agencies such as the Yabra Citizens Development Committee today hosted a one-day antiviolence rally and exhibition to raise awareness, especially among the country?s youngest citizens. Case files have revealed that many times children do not report incidents of abuse against a parent because they are afraid of losing their mother or father. But as explained to them by this police officer, the department is there to help, not break up the family.

Police Officer
?We try to work with them, we try to make the homes better, okay. You know when people think about police they say, oh police come because they wah ker my mommy or my daddy, but that is not true. Sometimes we just talk or we offer counselling.?

Older students, like these young ladies from Excelsior, were handed pamphlets and listened to talks given by a number of organisations involved in the fight against violence. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.