Last Updated on October 12, 2022, 2:04 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew and Attorney General Garth Wilkin met on the morning of Tuesday, October 11, to discuss ways in which they can immediately tackle the scourge of violence against women in the nation.
This meeting was scheduled following the tragic and heartbreaking incident in Nevis, which took place only a week prior.
According to Attorney-General Wilkin, The Parliament, Executive and Judiciary all play a role in this mission. As the leader of the Executive side of Government of St Kitts and Nevis, the Cabinet intends to quickly propose to Parliament the unnecessary and expensive hurdles in the Domestic Violence Act.
The Government must remove these hurdles which restrict or discourage women from seeking restraining orders against violent men (and vice-versa)
Last week, Attorney-General Wilkin and Junior Minister in the Cabinet of St Kitts and Nevis, Isalean Phillip, discussed the status of the Ministry of Social Development’s ongoing review of the Domestic Violence Act.
The discussions revealed that the legislation has faults. Thus, Minister Phillip and Attorney-General Garth Wilkin seek to work together to rectify them after consultation with the Police Force, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Social Development, the Legal Aid Center and the Justice Committee.
The Attorney-General of St Kitts and Nevis believes that every woman (or man) who is the victim of domestic violence in various forms should have easy and open access to justice and protection.
Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has urged the Attorney General to report to the nation that fixing the scourge of violence against women is a high-priority item on our legislative and administrative agendas of the government of St Kitts and Nevis
He added, “It was a priority before the tragic incident which happened in Nevis yesterday and will continue to be. He stated that his and the nation’s prayers are with the families of those who died and were injured.
Garth Wilkin insists that this needs to be a national effort.
If any community member sees domestic violence, they must report it. If someone knows a friend who needs help, they must help her. The Attorney General also urged the nation’s people to do their part.
He stated, “We have to make this Federation a better place for this generation and the generations to come. We must create a stable domestic violence prevention structure that keeps our mothers, our wives and all our women safe.”
Further, the Attorney General of St Kitts and Nevis, Garth Wilkin, shared the information about the Domestic Violence Act for the benefit of the people so that they may be able to make use of these legislations to keep themselves safe.
The Domestic Violence Act defines “domestic violence” as any controlling or abusive behaviour that poses a threat to health, safety or well-being of a person or child. These threats include, but are not limited to, the following—
(a) physical abuse or dangers of physical abuse
(b) sexual abuse or risks of sexual abuse
(c) emotional, verbal or psychological abuse
(d) economic abuse
(e) intimidation
(f) harassment
(g) stalking
(h) damage to or destruction of property or
(i) entry into the applicant’s residence without consent, where the parties do not share the same home;
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
