Welcome to the fourth in our series of bi-weekly columns under the title “The Gender Corner,” published in collaboration with The Anguillian newspaper. Through the publication we hope to provide thought provoking and stimulating discussion on gender-related matters. This week I am writing to you while in Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI), on a one-week attachment with the BVI Office of Gender Affairs.
Tortola is a beautiful land with roughly 30,000 people. That is more than double the population of Anguilla. You can definitely feel the buzz in the streets and especially in Road Town where I am staying at a locally-owned hotel, Maria’s by the Sea. Right here in the centre of the government and commerce section of the island is where the BVI Office of Gender Affairs is located, headed by their Gender Development Coordinator, Ms. Loralie Connor. Believe it or not, her ancestry is traced back to Anguilla and she has a love for our 35-square mile island. Ms. Connor and her staff of two other dedicated administrators are the perfect combination of knowledge, experience and perseverance toward all things related to changing communities for the better. The Office of Gender Affairs in BVI not only has a pulse on the community, but its members of staff are exuding the strength and energy that can keep the whole body functioning!
So what have I been doing here, you may ask? In just a short span of time I have been exposed to the ups and downs, challenges and successes of a process that I’ll call “Changing Communities through Constructive Collaboration.” One of my philosophies has always been that it takes a strong team of people to implement any needed positive change. Though it seems that the BVI Office is only 3 people, it is certainly their successful efforts in collaboration that make their 3 labourers seem like 300, slowly climbing to 3,000 and with a vision of uniting 30,000.
They have effectively passed a comprehensive Domestic Violence legislation and are continuing to implement a Domestic Violence protocol system that involves all stakeholders including, but not limited to, the Office of Gender Affairs, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Department, the Department of Social Development, the Peebles Hospital and necessary healthcare workers, Legal Aid and private attorneys, the Department of Public Prosecutions and a community organisation known as the Family Support Network. It is this focus on collaboration that allows diverse entities to bind together for collective and constructive change.
So far I have had the opportunity to speak with a few of these stakeholders, and have a packed schedule to have meetings with the others before the week comes to a close. On Tuesday, I received a full tour of the new six-story state-of-the art hospital facility that will open in September 2014. The capacity and capabilities of the medical units span from intense physiotherapy services to multiple fully equipped theatre operating rooms. Social Services in the hospital, also known as the Social Work Unit, are integral in the health services delivery process specifically for domestic violence victims.
At a visit to the Department of Social Development, they discussed their plans to establish an in-house Domestic Violence and Abuse Unit which will include trained social workers willing and able to provide trauma and abuse counseling to those currently facing, or who have previously faced, a violent situation. For the perpetrators of abuse, they too have rehabilitative services in the form of a court-mandated 16-week program looking holistically at the causes of abuse and establishing a personal development plan to end the harmful cycle. Out of 89 participants over the past 5 years, only 2 have entered back into the legal system for violence and abuse – a serious indicator of societal progress.
The tolerance of domestic violence in the BVI is focused on reaching zero. As the Police Commissioner, David Morris, mentioned, his approach to the seriousness of crime is that “today’s slap in the face is tomorrow’s murder.” This zero tolerance policy was given true service, and not just lip service, when the Commissioner of Police voluntarily instituted an internal policy and protocol for domestic violence response prior to the passage and enactment of the domestic violence legislation.
In just a short period of time, I am noticing that BVI is systematically tackling pressing issues in its society through a forward-thinking and forward-moving strategy that will always prove victorious. This strategy is an unshakeable foundation of identifying key constructive collaborations, and establishing a whole-hearted community-based pact to put the “I” and “me” aside and focus on what is best for “us” and “we.” The next step for BVI includes a slew of government workers training, public sensitisation in the primary schools and high schools, and the continued promotion of a “healthy relationships initiative” to provide the clear alternative to abuse and violence.
As you have probably gathered, there is an intense passion and drive to improve the lives of individuals in the BVI. Along the same lines, they too acknowledge that our passion and energy in Anguilla are equally as strong as our footprints follow the same path that they have walked just a few years earlier. I challenge you as a public servant, a community leader, a homemaker, and simply as an Anguillian, to consider the following questions: How can you collaborate to solve the pressing issues in gender affairs? Who will you collaborate with? What changes do you want to see in our communities, and how can you contribute? What will make your contribution constructive and sustainable for positive change?
Through the BVI attachment, the Gender Affairs Unit in Anguilla now has another partner in achieving the shared goals of positive growth and increased wellbeing of our respective societies. Ultimately we are all connected, so we must work together.
