Participants in the “Give Respect, Get Respect” workshop held Wednesday at the Lion’s Den in St. Eustatius.
ST. EUSTATIUS–The Ministry of Security and Justice, in collaboration with the Public Entity St. Eustatius, on Wednesday held a one-day “ Give Respect, Get Respect” workshop at the Lion’s Den on the topics of domestic violence and the sexual abuse of children.
The workshop brought together professionals working for the Public Entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Government Service Caribbean Netherlands, and the Ministries of Security and Justice; Public Health, Welfare and Sport; and Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations in The Hague.
Government Commissioner Marcolino “Mike” Franco delivered an address to declare the workshop officially open.
The main objectives of the workshop were to discuss the state of affairs concerning the tasks and responsibilities of the different public services involved in addressing domestic violence and sexual abuse of children, strengthening the cooperation, and the exchange of information between public services by interconnecting these initiatives.
During the workshop discussions were also held on the instruments, structures and programmes needed to better address the issue and to establish elements of a concrete integrated plan of action.
“Since 2017, St. Eustatius has its own Action Plan Domestic Violence,” said Franco. “We want to treat this as a dynamic plan because domestic violence and sexual abuse of children are complicated topics to talk about in small communities. This often presents specific challenges for professionals working in this field. In St. Eustatius, we have reached the stage where we must form strategic partnerships and further establish links among the various stakeholders locally and within the Kingdom. Today was the first step in the right direction. We cannot afford not to do anything.”
Participants discussed all levels of domestic violence and child sexual abuse including signs of abuse and commitment of services for follow-up; registration and exchange of information between services; providing support and assistance to victims; law enforcement, prosecution and probation for perpetrators; training of professionals; prevention and awareness, and monitoring and evaluation.
“I am pleased with the level of commitment from stakeholders on the islands and at the ministries in The Hague. Combined, there is a great deal of experience and expertise that can help St. Eustatius to achieve its objectives in dealing with domestic violence and child sexual abuse. The proposed action points and agreements will be fleshed out further, in keeping with the objective of this workshop,” said liaison at the Ministry of Security and Justice Gert Bogers.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/77644-workshop-on-domestic-violence-and-child-abuse
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