Director of the Bureau, John Hollingsworth (FP)????
A survey on the prevalence and demographic characteristics of domestic violence has been completed and a report submitted to the Bureau of Gender Affairs.
This disclosure has come from the Director of the Bureau, John Hollingsworth, who said it was hoped that the findings would be released on November 25, when the Bureau hosts a one-day symposium entitled ???Emphasising the Kind in Mankind’.
According to Mr. Hollingsworth, the meeting would be part of the activities being planned to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25 and the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
The Caribbean Development Research Services Inc. undertook the survey on behalf of the Bureau during the past year, so as to ascertain the true incidence of domestic violence, since it is unknown in Barbados because it is rarely reported.
Mr. Hollingsworth noted that the report would fill "a significant void" as it related to empirical information on the issue of domestic violence. "To date, we would have been dependent on data in international countries and anecdotal information to gauge the prevalence and demographic characteristics of domestic violence. With this information, we will now be able to more accurately determine some of the characteristics of domestic violence as it occurs here; how it affects various groups and how affected persons respond to the issue.
"It puts those agencies charged with the responsibility of responding to domestic violence in a better position to formulate and introduce measures to address its peculiar characteristics. It can also serve as baseline information to monitor the effectiveness of programmes and services that are introduced to combat the practice and supply the type of information to evaluate Barbados’ response to international conventions and plans of action that the country is party to," he explained.