60 advocates trained in energised campaign against domestic violence

WESTERN BUREAU:

Sixty anti-domestic violence advocates were equipped with professional strategies and methods to respond to people seeking refuge from abuse in their homes and otherwise by retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Novelette Grant recently.

Among those trained at the workshop, which was held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Montego Bay, St James, were police officers, guidance counsellors, deans of disciplines, justices of the peace, pastors and other front-line community leaders, representing neighbourhood watches, and community development committees.

At the end of the seminar, Grant expressed satisfaction that they were now better able to render compassionate assistance and cushion the pain victims are facing through professional advice. They were also given strategies to deal with perpetrators of domestic violence.

“Participants were carried through knowledge-based presentations, where we did role play and group work. That would help them to understand the nature and scope of domestic violence – how people experience the violence, how it is perpetrated, and what are the things that they should look for,” Grant, who is the founder of the anti-domestic violence group Enough is Enough, told The Gleaner.

She said that the seminar was designed to raise awareness and to sensitise police officers and community members whom people would normally turn to for help or who could, in the course of their duties, become aware of cases of domestic violence in the country.

“We started with self-awareness, where they examined whether or not they are, in fact, victims or perpetrators of domestic violence,” said Grant, who has done considerable work in gender matters.

She noted that victims might not find it easy to leave abusive relationships and that the answers to arrest this problem are not found in any single agency or ministry of the state or the private sector.

“We emphasised prevention because if we don’t, we will never be able to deal with the volume of problems that will arise,” Grant said. “We also recognised that the police by themselves don’t have all the tools, and we need a lot more than we currently have as a society.”

She added that while there are not enough anti-domestic violence advocates at this time, if those so trained can work together to optimise their approaches with the knowledge they have, much can be achieved in reducing acts of domestic violence.

Hermine Hamilton, a survivor of domestic violence, noted that despite her personal experience, she is now in a better position able to help others who are experiencing these acts of violence.

“I now know how to help victims with empathy, how to listen to them, and how to talk to them,” said Hamilton, who is also a senior justice of the peace from Trelawny.

“And I know now how to show respect to them despite their circumstances,” she said at the end of the workshop.

Several other participants reported that they now understand that domestic violence was not a private matter and it could happen to just about anyone. They added that they are also more aware of how to interface with victims and perpetrators with empathy and compassion.

“What I am taking away from this workshop is the fact that domestic violence will always be with us,” said Yvonne White Powell, a retired deputy superintendent of police.

“I have learnt different ways of handling domestic violence. Some of them we thought we knew before, but we took the wrong approach to assist persons. Now that we have been professionally trained, we are going to use the knowledge in helping victims,” she said.

Milton Campbell, a member of the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist Churches, said the workshop was very informative and insightful.

“I will take away from it the fact that every now and then, I should examine myself to see if I am contributing to the wounds and scars of the victim,” Campbell told The Gleaner. “It has empowered me to make a greater difference in my community.”

Sophia Nelson, a member of the Rose Mount Gardens Citizens Association in St James, noted that she was now aware that victims can be intimately bonded to their abusers and can find it challenging to seek help and will need special assistance to cope.

For his part, Clifford Chambers, assistant commissioner of police for the Area One formation of the JCF, was grateful for the seminar and thanked Grant, his former boss, for reaching out to stage the workshop.

“The reality is that domestic violence is a serious issue that we are battling. You might know that Jamaica is a hotspot for this crime and the best way were are better able to intervene will save us all,” Chambers said, noting that some major crimes committed last year had links to domestic violence.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com