STOP THE VIOLENCE AGAINST BELIZEAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

 

The United Women’s Group (UWG) of the People’s United Party (PUP) utterly

condemns any act of violence, and in particular, against women and children in

Belize.

 

The UWG is outraged by reports that, in considering a bail application for a 36

year old man accused of the carnal knowledge of a 14 year old girl in the Stann

Creek District, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Belize agreed to bail, purportedly

on the condition that the said accused marry the minor child, with whom he has

been living, and with whom he has a child. The UWG absolutely rejects any

proposal made by any person or authority in Belize to institutionalize or formalize

the continuation of the abuse, sexual, physical, mental and psychological of any

child in Belize.

 

It is against the law, under the Marriage Amendment Act 2005, for any child

below the age of 16, to marry, with or without parental consent, and the UWG

believes that Belizeans have a right to expect that our justice system must

operate to protect or children. The UWG takes the position that no officer of the

law should condone the wrongdoing of any individual, by permitting that person a

defence to his actions at the expense of children. Belize is a proud signatory to

the Convention on the Rights of the Child and we have imported that treaty

obligation into our domestic law.

 

The UWG is also concerned by reports that an accused who sought bail for the

stabbing of a female police officer at her place of work, the Dangriga Police

Station, has been ordered to report to that place weekly as a condition of bail.

Furthermore, the UWG rejects in its totality any suggestion that the said police

officer should have gone to another area in the police station knowing the man

was being brought for a matter that concerned her; and that she should have

known that her presence would have aggravated the situation. No victim of

violence should ever be made to bear such culpability for this kind of vicious

attack.

 

Belizean women and children have a legitimate expectation that the judiciary and

the legal system in Belize will not only protect their rights, but also help to end

the violence against them. On behalf of all women and children in Belize, the

UWG and the PUP demand an end to all forms of violence in our society, and call

on the Bar Association, the Council of Churches, the National Women’s

Commission and the National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) to

intervene.