And one Orange Walk area rep who is also the Minister of Health, Kevin Bernard agreed that the system failed Magana. Today he lamented the fact that she tried to seek help and was turned away. He said that more should have been done not just to help her, but any woman who comes to the police department with a complaint of domestic violence.
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"From my end, I speak personally, I am very saddened by what happened but sometimes we beg the question what went wrong. From what I understand, the lady that died tragically in this very distasteful incident had gone to the police, had made reports, tried to seek help and just because she couldn't access the court, my question, not because a judge is not there, there must be some mechanism in place that you can address and support this individual. And so there is much more that needs to be done when it comes to that and it's a whole of society approach that I think has to, because it's not just about when a woman goes to the police station and make a complaint and oh, it's husband and wife, they will get back together tomorrow, you don't take the complaint. I think every complaint should be handled seriously and has to addressed and i think we need to do much more, I am going to say that openly, we need to do much more. But not just the government, not just the police, every one of us. If we know of people suffering in silence, let us help, let us reach out to the authorities, let us ensure that these people get the necessary help. Like I said, it's a very sad situation that occurred. I understand the young 16 year old passed away as well, and the perpetrator, I will leave my comment about the perpetrator because I have my own personal opinion about that. But it's sad to see a young family losing their lives over such situation, whether it is jealously or whatever may have caused that individual but it leads us to also understand the ills that are affecting society and individuals."
A Cabinet release today pointed tritely to what it calls, quote, "the urgent need for continued national action to address and prevent domestic violence in all its forms….The Government of Belize calls on all Belizeans and all local entities, including the churches and civil society, to join in collective action to end gender-based and domestic violence across the nation."
