BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Mar. 03.2018 – A video making the rounds on social media has seen the Ministry of Gender of Affairs condemning the act, and has thrust the talk of more public education on domestic violence into the spotlight
A video which was reportedly shot on Thursday (Mar.1) at the Charlestown Secondary School, saw two male students manhandling a female student, with one beating her.
The other student could be seen restraining the female as the male dealt her lashes.
That video has caused the Minister of Gender Affairs in the Nevis Island Administration, Hazel Brandy-Williams, to condemn the cowardly acts.
“As Minister of Health and Gender Affairs, it is my sad duty to address you on an incident that took place at the Charlestown Secondary School on Thursday that is the subject of an exceedingly disturbing video circulating widely in Nevis during the last 24 hours.
“In the video, two male students can be
seen violently battering a female student on the school grounds. The beating lasts several minutes before security officers were able to intervene,” she explained.
The Minster stated that the use of violence as a means of settling any dispute whether amongst adults or children is absolutely unacceptable.
The matter has caused concerns for the Minister and her Cabinet colleagues, noting that it should also be for every adults.
“The use of such violence against a female is even more disturbing and particularly so when such abuse is perpetrated by her peers.
“The classroom and schoolyard ought to be fear-free zones, places where children can interact in complete safety, secure in the knowledge that they are in an environment that is supportive and not
threatening.”
That comment from the Minister came one day after two females were brutally hacked to death by a male in the Keys area.
Police have one person in custody, as the federal Ministry has also condemned that incident.
“Violence against women and girls has been seemingly on the increase both here in Nevis and in the Federation as a whole.
“Only Thursday, two women were brutally murdered in St. Kitts. Our nation ought not to become so accustomed to these horrific events that we appear to be immune to their impact on our communities. We are all responsible,” Brandy-Williams said.
According to the Minister, the fact that young boys could be so motivated to violence, speaks very poorly of the domestic environment to which they are exposed, adding that such behaviours are not learned in the classroom.
“As neighbours, if wives, mothers or children are being physically abused, we are all encouraged to alert the relevant agencies: the police, social services or indeed the Gender Affairs Division. Such abusive violence is not generally spontaneous, it is learned behaviour.”
