BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DIRECTOR of the Gender Affairs Department, Celia Christopher believes that there is a link between domestic violence and the current crime problem that exists in St. Kitts and Nevis, and she is concerned with some of the information she has been receiving.
This comes as the Department is working to alleviate the growing violence being perpetrated against women, while bringing attention to incidents involving some males.
“The legislation defines domestic violence as an ongoing debilitating pattern of physical, emotional and or sexual abuse involving force or threat of force,” the Director explained to SKNVibes during an exclusive interview.
An emotional advocate against domestic violence, Christopher believes that this growing problem is one of the main drivers behind the violence being experienced in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“Domestic violence in St. Kitts and Nevis, despite all that have been done, continues unabated. My whole perception of this domestic violence is that it is one of the drivers of the violence we are currently seeing, because violence doesn’t just happen in a vacuum; it starts somewhere. A lot of times it starts in the home, which constitutes part of the domestic violence situation.”
Christopher disclosed that she has been very vocal on the topic and has been impressing upon persons to look at the seriousness of it, pointing out that the problem must be curbed within homes.
“It is not enough to say that the school must do this and the church must do this, and everybody else must do this; it has to start in the home. But, unfortunately, a lot of what is done on the outside when it goes back to the home the parents or the guardians, or whoever, they undo everything that is done. So, children are receiving mixed messages and they find their own balance and go where the flow is.”
The Director noted that due to child-bearing at an early age, many parents do not have the coping skills or the mindset to deal with their children when they become abusive, whether in the home or out in the general environment.
She however recommended that parents should seek assistance from the various agencies in the Federation, including the Department of Gender Affairs, instead of “waiting until the problem gets out of hand”.
“Violent children are not born! When a child is born, he or she comes with a clean slate. You come into this world you have a slate that is very much clean and nothing on it. What goes on it is what you put on it. And so, in that sense, when children start misbehaving in the home, especially with the little fights and things between siblings, it progresses into deviant behaviour when they become adults.”
She implored parents to discipline their children from the beginning of any misbehaviour; if not they should seek assistance.
“The person you are disciplining should know why you are disciplining them. You cannot just beat a child for everything that happens. You have to sit them down and talk with your children and show them where they are going wrong, why they should not do what they are doing and the consequences of their actions,” the Director explained
Christopher added that many parents fall short of providing that discipline and the inculcated indisciplined behaviour is taken into the school and alter to the work environment. “And then they go down that slippery slope until they find themselves in prison or somewhere that is not good for them”.
