It's International Women's Day today and to celebrate - the Women's Department today held the second annual women's summit. But more than just talk, today's event was about real and meaningful action to penalize domestic abuse. Attorney General Francis Fosneca unveiled plans for a new Domestic Abuse Bill, repealing the original act of 1992.
Hon. Francis Fonseca. Attorney General
"First the Bill seeks to increase the power and jurisdiction of the Family Court in dealing with domestic violence cases so that the court can grant protection orders, occupation orders, counseling orders, tenancy orders, orders for payment of financial compensation, and other related orders or interim orders.
Second, the Bill seeks to provide more severe criminal penalties in respect to domestic violence offenses to reflect the community's revulsion to this social ill and to act as a deterrent.
Third, the Bill enlarges the categories of people who may apply for orders against domestic violence.
Fourth, the Bill streamlines and provides greater powers to the police in respect of their ability to intervene in domestic violence situations.
Fifth, the Bill increases the offenses which constitute domestic violence. Importantly, the definition of domestic violence has been extended to include physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or financial abuse."
Attorney General Francis Fonseca's announcement earned rave form the audience and gave power and purpose to the women's movement - but he warned legislation cannot govern human behaviour.
Hon. Francis Fonseca,
"Domestic Violence Act 2007 my friends will signal a policy of zero tolerance to domestic violence. But as you know only too well, legislation can be rendered meaningless if our institutions and citizens do not give meaningful and support to that legislation."
And at least three times in the past year, we've seen where legislation cannot government what happens between a man and a woman.
Carol Fonseca, Director - Women's Department
"Over the past few months the very fabric of our nation has been shaken with hideous acts of domestic violence that have led to the deaths of nurse Anna Magdalena Basto, Carol Ogaldez Gabourel, and Keisha Sutherland. These tragedies have forced us to ask ourselves some hard questions."
And foremost among those hard questions is: what role can men play? Minister of Human Development Sylvia Flores and Belize's Ambassador at Large Ms. Shabazz had ideas about that.
Ms. Shabazz,
"Understand that when we speak about the empowerment of women, it is not to eclipse the inherent power that men have. We love you. We love the men in our lives. We love our sons, we love our brothers, we don't mind being the backbone. We don't even mind being on the side. But you can't take the voice or the sound from our spirit. There is no way you can stand there as men without us behind you moving the lyrics along. So this is not an either or, we have to function in the 'we.'"
Hon. Sylvia Flores,
"We promote zero tolerance for violence in our homes, in our streets, and in our communities and especially against women and children. We must encourage men and boys to question the extent and consequences of male dominance to reject violence and most important for them to listen to and respect women. Boys especially must be taught to work against systems that are based on the concept of male dominance."
Fonseca says it takes not only men, but a whole community to end domestic violence.
Carol Fonseca,
"At the Women's Department we have repeatedly said along with all of our partner agencies that this is a problem that must be addressed from a multi-sectoral perspective. It has to be a coordinated community effort which involves all sectors of the society who are genuinely committed to eliminating violence against women.
We have reached a point in our society where there has to be a change in behavior and attitudes that for too long have allowed us as a society to accept violence against women. Too many of us continue to see domestic violence as a private issue and something that has to be worked out between a man and a woman. Too many of us who work with victims of domestic violence continue to be insensitive to their needs. Too many of us remain silent when we see our family members, friends, co-workers with bruises and scars. Too many of us see this as someone else's problem."
But in a community where man and woman business is treated with special reserve getting a community to intervene in private business require transformation, not just a one day summit - and it's left to be seen where these women leaders will take it from here.
The women's summit continued with presentations from law enforcement, the media and the churches talking about their roles in ending domestic violence. The new Domestic Abuse Bill will be approved by Cabinet and will be presented to the House at its next sitting.
