With this week being observed as Women’s Week, the Honourable Minister of Social Develoment, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, remarked during the weekly Government press conference, on Monday March 8th, that the day was designated as International Women’s Day. She highlighted the theme of the observance was: “Women in Leadership; Achieving an Equal Future for All in a Covid-19 Environment.”
The Minister remarked that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a marked impact on equality around the world and Anguilla was no different with the spiking of domestic violence cases. She stated: “Here in Anguilla, the Royal Anguilla Police Force has reported that since the shutdown in March 2020, there has been a 125% increase in domestic violence. Evidently, there has been a correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic with the shutdown of borders and the spikes in domestic violence.”
She said that a rise in domestic violence is evident not only in Anguilla, but across the region as well, and she along with other Ministers of Social Development in the region have been monitoring the trend. As such, she said: “We are trying to put forward some interventions in order to help women in our area.”
She noted that during the week a number of events would have been featured relative to the wellbeing of women. One of the events to which she referred was the launching of the SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) hotline that would assist women who might be impacted by the scourge of domestic violence. That launching took place on Wednesday, March 10th at Malliouhanna Hotel’s Leon’s Room. (The event is extensively reported elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian.)
According to Minister Kentish-Rogers, “Persons who are affected by domestic violence might need more than just having their case reported to the police. Sometimes they would need someone to talk to; someone they can confide in; someone who can help them to get things off their chest. They need a confidential source that would be able to assist them – and not judge them. Hence, the timing of the launch of the SAFE hotline could not be better,” she observed, considering the pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She mentioned that the establishment of the SAFE hotline, for domestic abuse, was all about Anguilla, in that an effort is being made to protect women and keep them safe. “This is a contribution to national development and safety,” she noted.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
