“If you don’t provide your wife with money, that is a form of domestic violence,” says acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams. Speaking at an event hosted by the Police Service in Chaguanas to raise awareness about domestic violence, Williams said financial abuse was a form of domestic violence.
“Domestic violence is committed by human beings. It may be domestic violence by children against parents, might be domestic violence by men against women, might be domestic violence by women against men. We do in fact know that the statistics have shown that men are the ones who are the greatest offenders in the realms of domestic violence,” he said.
Williams said the Police Service has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence and emphasised that domestic violence was not only physical abuse but can also show its face in social situations and verbal confrontations.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Anne Marie Daly-Alleyne said 27 people have lost their lives in 2014 through acts of domestic violence. She said police statistics have shown that domestic violence had taken on a different phenomena with an increasing number of men being abused. She said all police officers would be retrained into all areas of domestic violence especially in areas of the legal framework involved.
Yesterday’s march against domestic violence got off to a late start. The event was carded to begin at 6 am. But it was shortly before 8 am when hundreds of participants left the starting point at Chaguanas Borough Corporation, Cumberbatch Street. Clad mostly in red clothing, the procession headed east along the Chaguanas Main Road, then north along Caroni Savannah Road, before heading back to the borough corporation, ending before rain began falling.
Passersby said they mistook the event for a political gathering. The Opposition People’s National Movement predominant colour is red. Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan, who also spoke at the event, called for an end to domestic violence and bullying in schools. Boodhan said burgesses must be vigilant and keep an eye out for their neighbours, friends and relatives to avoid further tragedies arising out of domestic violence.