Special Envoy on Domestic Violence

The Prime Minister has made no comment on the accusation against the Minister of Education but the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis Barrow issued a statement today. In a message, the special envoy encourages both women and men to report acts of violence and follow through with legal proceedings; stressing that fear, social pressures and shame should not be a deterrent to seeking help. The statement says that the Domestic Violence Act is there to provide protection and the Police Department has an obligation to respond to all reports of domestic violence regardless of the perpetrator. Says the release, “The violence is perpetrated by one man, but the responsibility goes far beyond him. The friends and neighbors who ignore or excuse domestic violence, the doctor or nurse who does not go beyond treating the wounds, the police who may refuse to intervene and all of us, in some way or the other, are responsible for the continued acts of violence against women and men.”