 Senators, I think when we were interrupted and we broke, the senator's poll use was continuing in her presentation. You may go ahead and continue your presentation, Senator. Much appreciated, Mr. President. And Mr. President, I want to assure you that my submission held today and everything that I talk about is in alignment with the intentions of this bill, the domestic violence bill. And I believe, unless you remember things otherwise, that the intention is to arrest, to address the problem of domestic violence and to make our homes, our country a better place, a safer place. And the leader of government business mentioned that in his presentation. And unless we identify those behaviors that exemplify the different forms of abuse, how can we solve the problem? We need to. I will not spend the entire day on it, but we need to. So Mr. President, there is need for us to take an introspective look at us as legislators in this country. Frequent forms of personal assaults, intimidation, psychological abuse, and threats made by some of our parliamentarians to some citizens of this country, whether it happens here in the parliament or on talk shows or elsewhere, must not go unnoticed. It's all in keeping with the intention of this domestic violence bill. As legislators, we hold public office, Mr. President. We have a responsibility and an obligation to live and to conduct our parliamentary duties by the highest standards. An obligation to set the example and to behave in the most respectful and exemplary way. Mr. President, I've said it before, perhaps not in this space and I'm going to repeat it. The world is watching and the people of this country are watching our conduct. What we say, how we say it, how we respond to different situations outside this chamber. And if we cannot adhere to the guidelines and the regulations outlined in this bill, then our political discourse, our deliberations, and the passing of this bill would be a meaningless and futile undertaking. It would be a mere waste of our time and the resources of this country, Mr. President. We cannot continue to silently convey to the people of this country, Mr. President, that they should do as we say or as the losses, but not as we parliamentarians do. And you know what is sad, Mr. President? When we as parliamentarians, and I say we because I believe in the proverbial expression that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. No one is above the law. No one is above the law. And this is an air political statement that I'm making, regardless of the party in office. Whether it's on this side or the other side, my position remains, Mr. President. So when we and our affiliates abuse others psychologically, verbally or otherwise, when we intimidate others and we're not taken to task, then we are the biggest perpetrators of domestic violence. I challenge this government, Mr. President, to adopt and I want to echo the sentiment of the Minister for Gender Affairs. I want to challenge this government to adopt that zero tolerance to all forms of abuse as has already been articulated. And I sincerely hope that the deliberations that we've had so far and the passing of this bill have in some way propelled us to look within. Look at how we conduct ourselves, our intentions, our deeds, and that we feel encouraged and empowered to do what is necessary to make amends for our misdeeds as parliamentarians, Mr. President. It is time that we show, not tell, show our children and the citizens of this country that they should treat others the way that they would like to be treated. Having said that, Mr. President, I support the bill, but it is important that we realize that we have a critical role to play in the enactment of this bill as parliamentarians and leaders of this country. I thank you. Senator Stanislaw. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, as I rise to make my contribution to the domestic violence bill as presented by the leader of government business, permit me for you to express and convey my sincere condolences to the family, friends, loved ones, and the entire fraternity of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force on the untimely passing of PCA 863 teamit. My best wishes, Mr. President, for a speedy and successful recovery must also be extended to PC Calvin as well, who suffered numerous gunshot wounds in this same incident. My force and prayers are with both families at this difficult time. Mr. President, as the affected families grieve during this time, I urge them to take comfort in the words of Washington Irving, the early 19th century American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat who reminds us that, and I quote, there is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They speak more eloquently than 10,000 tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. Mr. President, such vicious, violent, cowardly, and barbaric attacks on our police, our men and women in uniform, who have taken the solemn oath to protect and save, and to uphold law and order in this country must be condemned in the strongest language by each and every one of us. Not only in the chambers of this august body but throughout the length and breadth of this country, Mr. President, by every citizen, every business, every religious organization, and civil society. Mr. President, our voices must be raised in compelling accord with the thunderous blast of expressions of strong disapproval against crime. The message of condemnation must be loud and clear, Mr. President. We will not accept, we will not tolerate, we will not be intimidated by those who are held bent on creating fear, terror, horror, distress, and panic amongst our people. But rather, Mr. President, as a God-fearing, forthright, conscientious, and law-abiding people, we will rise to the occasion with a sense of purpose, determination, and tenacity, that together the people of Fair Helene and members of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force will defeat the evil plague of crime. Mr. President, the issue of crime in all its diabolical forms, particularly domestic violence, must of necessity be approached with the combined united hands of bipartisanship for the collective national good. Mr. President, our philosophical and policy position from this side of the parliamentary aisle has always been a position that views crime prevention as a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, and integrated endeavor. Hence, Mr. President, it is from this broad sectorial lens anchored in the understanding that prevention is of vital importance and crucial in the first step to justice, that crime prevention must be undertaken. Crime is everyone's business, Mr. President, from the point of view of collective societal responsibility. Mr. President, our approach to crime prevention must incorporate policy and legislative prescriptions, actions and procedures that focus on reducing the risk of crimes occurring and the potential harmful effects on individuals and society, including fear of crime by intervening to influence the multiple causes. Mr. President, I bid two days after the official observance of International Women's Day, I am compelled to salute the women of our beautiful country and wish them a happy International Women's Day. This year's celebration here in St. Lucia is especially poignant as we, as a people, have achieved what still remains a far-fetched dream in many other countries, and that is the tabling and eventual enactment of the Domestic Violence Bill. There is no greater gift, Mr. President, that we could give to the women and children of this nation, especially the more vulnerable among them who fall prey to physical and sexual abusers. Mr. President, this is no small victory for the many women who have suffered at the hands of the intimate partners with little legal recourse. This is no small victory for families who have had to bury loved ones who made their demise at the hands of their lovers. Mr. President, this is no small victory for those who, since the path-breaking Beijing conference 25 years ago, have advocated for the rights of women and children in particular. And Mr. President, this is no small victory for the public servants who, for over 10 years, have had to peruse over this piece of legislation, reviewing, revising, and editing to ensure that it is in sync with other pieces of related legislation. In fact, Mr. President, as a legal luminary yourself, you will have full appreciation for the review process that was undertaken very meticulously in the past five years in particular. And why, Mr. President? Because you may recall, Mr. President, that when the last administration of which I was a part had passed the Child Justice Bill and the Children Care Protection and Adoption Bill in 2018, we, on that occasion, as we did previously and on occasions thereafter, expressed our intentions to ensure that the domestic violence bill will soon see the light of day. In fact, we treated these pieces of legislation as a suit of laws that would individually and collectively address the issues that haunt already vulnerable children and women in particular. And that very importantly, that because of these new bills, Mr. President, that we had to ensure that there was legal alignment with previous legislation, parts of which had to be replaced, and in the case of the domestic violence bill, that it was in step with whatever related legislation that we were tabling and enacting at the time. That is why, Mr. President, my profound thanks go out to the local and international NGOs, the various pressure groups, the international agencies that contributed financially and lend significant technical expertise during this arduous process and to the public servants who worked tirelessly over the many years to ensure that this version of the domestic violence bill was sufficiently apt to capture not only the legal changes that had been made to sister laws, but also to reflect and cater to emerging criminal practices through digital or other forms of social media, for example. So, as a St. Lucian who appreciates all too well what many have to endure in silence, Mr. President, I am proud to be standing in this honorable house today and say, well done, St. Lucia. We as a nation have delivered to the people of this country what they have long agitated for and rightfully deserve, and that is a law that offers them hope, protection, and a fair shot at justice. This bill, Mr. President, is one of many that will afford us as legislators the opportunity to stand tall above the partisan politics and applaud the architects and all those who in some form ensured that today St. Lucia will make its mark for doing the right thing for the victims of domestic abuse and violence. But Mr. President, let me caution that laws on their own do little to cure social and criminal ills if they are not fully implemented and forced and adhered to. This is why I bear of this new labour administration to go further and ensure that this new piece of legislation is not allowed to fall flat because the related agencies charged with the duty to uphold it are staffed of the necessary resources so that all citizens can realize the full benefit to be had and the protection that this new law affords. There is no telling, Mr. President, who the next victim will be. And so we all, Mr. President, have a vested interest in seeing this law upheld. In fact, my fervent prayer is that it serves as a strong deterrent to would be perpetrators. Mr. President, the point must be made that issues such as crime, vaccination and the now new domestic violence bill should benefit from greater bipartisan input and not be relegated to being a political football, a caught up in the quagmire of partisan politics. Nobody wins when this is allowed to happen, but only the people suffer, Mr. President. Mr. President, we on this side of the Senate hold steadfastly to the urgent view that for this comprehensive piece of legislation in the form of the domestic violence bill to be truly effective, sensitization of all stakeholders is vital. Therefore, Mr. President, we strongly advocate for an education drive through public sensitization to create awareness among the general populace, government agencies, particularly the police and civil society on the dangers of domestic violence, not just on the women, but on the family as a whole. This, Mr. President, is a very meticulous, broad-sweeping and comprehensive bill, and therefore, Mr. President, it is important to enlighten all stakeholders, particularly those involved in the provision of social services, and as I said earlier, particularly the police, so that they are adequately aware and knowledgeable of the provisions of this important piece of legislation so that they may better administer the legislation for its intended meaningful impact. Mr. President, we believe that public sensitization is very important in preventing domestic violence, and that programs through the Ministry of Education should be included in our school curriculum and the bad effects of domestic violence so that awareness will be created among the general populace, especially our young people at the school level. Mr. President, in conclusion, I give my full and unwavering support to the Domestic Violence Bill and look forward to giving my support where necessary so as to achieve its aim to be comprehensive in both its scope and its range of approaches and key areas of focus. I thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I join my fellow colleagues in extending my condolences to the family of Officer Thimet and the Royal St. Lucia Police Force. Mr. President, unless it hits home, we do not really understand the impact of violence in any form. I also want to extend speedy recovery to Officer King. I also want to join my colleagues in wishing all women a happy International Women's Day, Women's Week, Women's Month. Women are always on duty, and sometimes they do not receive the due recognition for their contribution to society. We have many women who sit quietly and do a lot to improve the quality of life of their families. Sometimes single-handedly they raise their families, and so we must congratulate those women. We must recognize their efforts. Mr. President, today we are here to debate the Domestic Violence Bill. Mr. President, I was raised in an era where domestic violence was acceptable behavior. A man could hit a woman at will, and she had to accept it. This was our culture. But times have changed, Mr. President. I remember vividly a wife telling me, see madam, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am. That's the level of ignorance that we had to face in society. That they felt it was okay, but never realized how much domestic violence could affect a family. As a former teacher, a former principal, a former education officer, I had to intervene on a daily basis when students came to school with marks on their backs, when students came to school hungry. Sometimes I had to be on the phone with students just to help them go by for a day, for weeks, for months, because of the violence that took place at home. We had to look for assistance for them. We had to get homeless for them in some instances. And therefore, Mr. President, I am well aware of what happens in some homes, the unacceptable behavior that happens in some homes. And Mr. Speaker, it has taken us a long time to enact such legislation. And probably, as I said before, it was because of the culture of our nation. But a government that cares ensures that it addresses the ills of society with correct legislation. We've heard that legislation is not all, and we are all aware of that. We have to practice good behavior. We ourselves have to be role models in society so that our children can emulate our behavior. Mr. President, no more can we accept leaders of government who refer to citizens as barking dogs, as mendicants, or remark that single women are responsible for crime. Mr. President, my mother is still a single woman. And I believe that she did a fabulous job in raising me and my siblings. They are six of us. Mr. President, those utterances are emotionally damaging. And probably this is why a lot of St. Lucian's made the decision that they made. Mr. President, we need to protect the dignity of our people. And when I say dignity, I mean the right of a person to be valued, to be respected for his own sake, and to be treated ethically. This is what we all want for the people of St. Lucia. Mr. President, some of the victims of domestic violence did not report matters of domestic violence. And so our statistics cannot even speak to the level of domestic violence in St. Lucia. Mr. President, I believe this is because of the graphic nature of the court proceedings. This bill provides protection regarding personal information of victims and places a restriction on persons allowed to be present during domestic violence proceedings and the publication of domestic violence records. And I know a lot of men because of their ego wouldn't come forward when they were victims of domestic violence. We have a lot of women because of their pride, because of the exposure of their children at those proceedings. So they were doing something good by keeping those children away from the courts. But this piece of legislation has brought comfort so that we no longer have to think of the embarrassment of the shame of the humiliation that victims had to face or had to endure in an open court. This legislation provides a more humane manner of dealing with matters of domestic violence in the court to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice and are made accountable for their crimes. Mr. President, this bill has zero tolerance for domestic violence. A child can be arrested for an act of domestic violence. It does not exempt children. As violence, Mr. President, can be nurtured young children directly or indirectly learned to be violent through exposure to violence, Mr. President. Mr. President, as a former teacher, I know that the underprivileged, that the disabled are sometimes the worst affected by domestic violence. Mr. President, some children whose parents are not able to assist them may live with other families and sometimes they are victims. And this legislation speaks to children who live in other homes and not only siblings are protected from domestic violence. Mr. President, as my colleague said earlier, I've been very, very concerned about the psychological effects of domestic violence. Sometimes students come to school, they misbehave, they are violent other children and sometimes we wonder, sometimes they are punished. And Mr. President, sometimes it's because of the experiences at home. And I'm very happy today that this piece of legislation can protect our children and it is probably a step in the right direction to address the issues, the ills of society today. Mr. President, students who are emotionally unstable sometimes fight are violent This morning I looked at, I saw a video and I'm very disturbed about school children fighting in the public and very close to a police station. This is worrisome, Mr. President. And these are the issues that this domestic violence act seeks to address. That our children learn to behave in an acceptable manner if they are treated well at home, if they are treated fairly, if the environment in the household is one that is stable. And so we wonder sometimes why some of them end up in the mental institutions, why some of them are on the streets, while some of them are at the correctional institutions, Mr. President. We have, and I would articulate what some of the members have said before, we must educate our people on their rights as well as their responsibilities. We must understand that it is not OK to be violent, it is not OK to abuse. And abuse is not only physical because sometimes we see somebody with cutlass wounds and then we say, oh, this person was chopped, this person. But how about all of those people around, the young people who are emotionally abused and they walk around the place and they are looking for assistance and because we do not see physically, we do not adequately address the issues that confront them. Mr. President, I believe that this is an area that has to be focused on seriously. We must give emphasis to, we must address the issue of emotional violence, emotional abuse among our people, especially the young ones. And I'm sure that you walk the streets and you meet many of them on a daily basis. We find some of them, you know, who speak to us sometimes and we really do not understand what they are going through. Sometimes they cannot tell us and one of the issues is as well the process that they have to go through in school to get counselors to be counseled and sometimes our parents still feel that there is nothing wrong with my child. Why are you referring my child to a counselor? This is one of the issues that confront us in the society, Mr. President. And this is one area that we have to work with our parents to help them understand that our children are not only physically abused but they can be emotionally abused and we have to address these issues. Mr. President, I know my colleagues have a lot to say but I had to address this issue of emotional abuse of our children and to put on record that we have to make it a priority. Mr. President, I stand in full support of this comprehensive bill that has taken so long to get to the fore but the St. Lucia Labour Party has made it a reality. I thank you. Senator Lee. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, with your leave, I wish to join my colleagues who have extended their condolences to the family of Officer Tomet. I did not know him well personally but I had a cause to interact with him on a few occasions and he always came across as an exemplary police officer and as an exemplary human and so I would like to extend my condolences to the family and the Royal Central Police Force as a whole. They have lost a tremendous officer. I also wish to extend my best wishes to Officer King who I understand is recovering and we pray for his continued and speedy recovery. Mr. President, I rise to speak just very shortly on this bill which has received bipartisan support from what I'm hearing in the House this morning and I wish to add my voice in support of the bill. The context of the bill I think has been well established by a number of speakers who have gone before me and I just wish to identify a few aspects of the bill I think are noteworthy as well as just one or two issues I think I may have with some areas of it. The definition of domestic violence in this bill is comprehensive. I think that has been said before and that cannot be doubted. In particular, I wish to point out that it refers not just to physical and sexual violence which we normally associate with domestic violence but goes on to point out psychological abuse, economic abuse and forced confinement and cyber stalking, cyber harassment, things that we don't necessarily associate with domestic violence although they often precursors to the physical violence that a number of our members of society suffer and economic abuse in particular I think is very important and is very apt to be included in this bill. In a number of cases, persons will use their economic control of the family as a means of controlling their partners and a means of controlling their children and in some ways it also plays into psychological abuse obviously and in a number of ways it has perhaps even more dramatic effect than physical abuse. In some ways you take a lash, you know, you get the pain, it goes away but when you can't eat, when you can't leave, when you can't move freely, when you can't do anything of your own because this person is controlling the purse strings and controlling you, it dehumanizes you, it makes you almost into a slave and so including this in this bill is very, very important. Much has also been made of the fact that the bill covers abuse of women but by women of men, of children and by children of both men and women and I think again that is very important in ensuring that we are dealing with as much of the areas of domestic violence as we can and ensuring that we are given as much protection to our members of society as we can. I want to put on record though the point that has been made before that laws do not fix all our problems. Domestic violence in particular is pernicious because it is part of society because persons have learned this behavior and so in combating domestic violence we must not just put in place laws we have to make sure that we educate persons that this is not how you behave in society. I believe that in my personal experience I can say that I have never abused anyone and this is not because of any innate goodness I have but it's because I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family where you were taught not to abuse persons where it wasn't just that you had a good example but it was actually taught to you that you don't treat and you don't abuse persons. If I may share a somewhat embarrassing personal anecdote when I decided to get married and we informed myself and my wife informed my mother and father that we were getting married my mother took the opportunity to inform my wife that physical abuse was not part of a marriage arrangement and that if I should ever abuse her in addition to informing the police she was to come to my mother who would then deal with me accordingly. So it was a situation like I said where it wasn't just that you were taught not to abuse persons but that it was enthroned and drummed into your head that you have to treat everyone with a certain level of dignity and consideration. And so we have to make efforts to go into the communities to educate persons that there is a better way. We can't just rely on the fact that we've passed legislation pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves that we've dealt with domestic violence. We have to go further and this goes for both men and for women much has been made of it men tend to suffer in silence. We may not get the physical abuse although they are men who are physically abused but we tend to take the psychological abuse that you are not a man because you have not done this you are not as good as because you can't do this or that so we have to make sure we go into society and educate persons get that socialization corrected where persons realize that violence, domestic violence is not accepted behavior. The point has also made that the act puts a lot of responsibility on the organs of government we may look particularly at section 3 and part 2 which goes to include the services that have to be provided we're looking at crisis intervention transportation of victims to medical centers or shelters healthcare and social programs counseling for victims psychoeducational group therapy this bill is only going to work and achieve its full aims if these services are put in place when we look around now and look at what is available to us we recognize that there is a very huge gap there is an inadequate housing for women and men and children who are suffering abuse that has to be addressed otherwise this is not going to work the counseling services have to be strengthened the police officers I think again we put a lot of responsibilities on police officers and we don't always give them the support and then we wonder why things don't work the vulnerable persons unit is severely understaffed but it does an essential job within the police service so we need to make sure the resources are given to the police officers to do their work properly to provide the support to both the victims and the perpetrators I think we need to recognize as well in a lot of cases the abusers themselves have been abused they have grown up in circumstances and environments where they just have to lash out because that is all they know so we need to make sure in particular and the bill does make provision for it and I recognize that that it does require that in the final protection orders that requirements can be made for both parties to attend counseling but in doing so we have to make sure that those structures are in place so that full advantage can be taken of them and that we can improve and support society as a whole I did indicate that there were just two areas I think of the bill itself that I just wanted to highlight I think we may need to just tweak slightly one is in reference to section 7 and the reports that must be made in regard to domestic violence 7-3 requires that anybody who is making a report of domestic violence must be able to name the victim and the accused person I think the word must perhaps should be changed to me because I may not know that information or I might just know a nickname for example but I think we should not take out the responsibility from persons who observe domestic violence to make those reports and they should not be prevented from doing so merely because they cannot give full information the other part that I noted that was a little curious to me was under section 24 which deals with sub-student service and I noted in particular under section 3 which makes the applicant responsible for paying for the sub-student service again I think to impose on somebody who is suffering from domestic violence who has perhaps just barely gotten the confidence to take further action and make a report to the police and seek a protection order whether it be interim or final to have the additional responsibility of paying for sub-student service in a situation where the abuser may be avoiding service or cannot be found to be served is adding insult to injuries somewhat they may not even have the resources in some cases because remember we are looking at economic abuse as well to meet that cost so I think perhaps we need to adjust it there that whether we make provisions for waiving the cost or for the government to pick up the cost or that it should not be that the cost falls automatically on the applicant but that being said as I started off my presentation I think this bill is a very comprehensive well thought out well drafted bill it is long, as I think has been said, long overdue and I believe it will contribute significantly to the improvement of our society so I support the bill, thank you Senator Sharabi Thank you Mr. President and like my colleagues before me I take this opportunity to extend sincere condolences to the family of the fallen police officer but to go a bit further Mr. President to implore the citizens of this nation including the police force that we have to find the silver lining amidst this grey cloud too often we do this where we extend words of sympathy when a situation like that arises but what happens when the tears have been shed and I think it's unfortunate but it's an opportune time as well that we look at what currently exists we look at the situation of lack of confidence in the police force, lack of confidence in the people who were charged to protect us and implore that the hierarchy of the police force at this time especially devises a mechanism and sends a strong message out to the perpetrators in this country of ours that there will be no tolerance to that type of behaviour similarly to those of us who are responsible for the making of law and legislation that we start looking at the mechanisms that exist to ensure that we curb that type of behaviour Mr. President so that we do not ever so often have to stand up in solidarity with a fallen soldier a fallen member of our police force as well as victims of other forms of violence I also take this opportunity Mr. President to extend greetings to the women of our great island St. Lucia on the recently observed International Women's Day I think that a lot have been said in terms of the role that women play in our society and I want to as a woman myself to not appear to be in an environment where we're competing with the men for the space or that we're attempting to overpower them but as we celebrate the day and as we reflect that what we attempt to do in our actions in our deeds is to create a society where there is a greater level of equality and that gender is not one of the foremost factors in determining our fate as citizens of a country and so as I move to the substantive matter before us Mr. President which is the domestic violence bill I stand there in support like my colleagues before me of this domestic violence bill and I want to just take a little time to focus on some particular aspects of the bill that stood out to me it is my opinion that this bill is an attempt to create a move to a more gender balanced society Mr. President where whether you are a boy, a girl, a man or a woman that you feel confident that the laws of the land where you were born or where you live offers you some level of protection that is equal and similar to the level of protection afforded to the next person in your country Mr. President I think what this bill does is that it attempts to move to give some level of protection on behalf of persons in our society who are otherwise considered vulnerable considered displaced and who are victimized on a daily basis I want to take a special focus on the definition of domestic violence and domestic violence refers to violence that occurs within the setting of a marriage, a household, a home amongst family members anyone within that setting regardless of gender and sexuality Mr. President I think what this bill does is to look at domestic violence it is an attempt to deflicate the word it is not about domestic violence it is a situation that can be very difficult for the marriage, for the family men see who say a tiffee, a tibwai a norm, a bear farm and I have heard a lot regarding the difficulties that perhaps the many in our society have found in being able to comfortably report issues of domestic violence report issues of misuse and abuse within the family I am very happy to stand here today and be part of this historic moment Mr. President where we are now offering the men in our society who have otherwise felt the truth is as much as violence against women have been more reported but I think that we as a society have been doing a disservice to our men because those who fall victim of domestic violence have to actually suffer more than one type of pain because they suffered a pain of the event and they suffered a pain of not being able to freely be able to express themselves and report the abuse Mr. President and so I applaud this bill for giving them more or less a voice and an opportunity to be able to do that as I read through that bill Mr. President I see the power and the authority given to the police to investigate to thoroughly investigate the matters even when the reporter is not the victim and I think this is very important Mr. President but the police is tasked with that responsibility because very often some of the matters are trivialized and it does not get to its rightful conclusion or we do not really get to understand what the real matter is because it is killed in its steps because of the lack of investigation and the fact that that bill holds the authority is responsible to do that I think that is a good move through our legislation as well I am pleased in terms of the arrangements for protection of the child I think this is well articulated in the legislation and I applaud that I think it is very important that we protect our children and we know too well and the senator before me alluded to it that a lot of the time the person who perpetrates violence wore themselves victim of privy to violence and so being able to give our children that level of protection means that we are well on our way to giving them that confidence and perhaps that change in the trajectory of what is happening within the household I also Mr. President want to mention quickly how impressed I am with what is considered the non-traditional or the less spoken about types of domestic violence that the bill speaks to and specifically I want to mention coercion, economic abuse and cyber-stalking I think it is important that as times have been modernized and what we perceive to have been the domestic violence this has evolved and there are new forms and the bill is modern enough to capture that type and give us protection against it as well under section 7 of the bill where you look at reports Mr. President it says that a person in a position of trust or authority towards a child can be held responsible for not reporting for not reporting the event of domestic violence and I think this is very important Mr. President and why I think it is very important because too often we hear, we see, we know of these events happening within our society and we turn a blind eye to it and what is even more what is even more striking Mr. President is that many of the times the persons who actually turn a blind eye to that behavior are the very people charged with their responsibility to protect the vulnerable Mr. President it's a hard thing, it's a very difficult thing like our mother and daughter Kajen Abizi whether say by a plea goer for a papa a buffet a mama and a daughter is so difficult but perhaps because of maybe some of the other forms we've mentioned the economic power that the man has in the household this woman will not protect the child and report these incidences and so I like the fact that they can now be held responsible for being what we call in our local palace the city ways in the situation if I can use that word I did not there was one thing I think I did not I may not have necessarily seen in the bill that we, I think that's important that we perhaps stick up in there what happens when somebody has made a report of a domestic violence case but it may when it is investigated it may be found to be unfounded and untrue so as much as there is a responsibility to report it when it's happening but I think as well as citizens we have a responsibility to be honest because we know that some person might want to take advantage of this in order to be malicious and to tarnish people's reputation and I know there is protection on the other pieces of legislation where that is concerned but it's something that that struck me Mr President as well I want to touch on the interim protection order in section 14 that gives immediate protection to the victim and I want to stress on the word immediate and I think one of the senators before me spoke to that what happens when and I think it also gives them allowance for the court to look at this protection orders outside of ordinary court hours that this is a step in the right direction because when people feel disenfranchised when people feel fearful when they know that there is a level of protection that can come almost immediately I think that they will be more comfortable to go out and report it knowing full well that the law can protect them almost immediately until the proceeding goes forward Mr President between clause 3 and 5, clause 3 to 5 the support services and resources is mentioned and I want to say that like colleagues before me who have said that the law and I agree that the law in itself will not change the situation and it will not change overnight and it is important there that we really look at and I think the minister under the law the minister is charged with the responsibility to put these other things in place and I think it's important that we look at what currently exists in terms of the support services and where it needs to be yes with limited resources augment the departments and the service providers who are responsible to add a hair who are responsible to enforce aspects of the law and I think we've started as a government even before this bill I think we've started in terms of the resources and I think like I said earlier a lot of responsibility is placed on the police here to ensure that they investigate and so on but very very commonly we hear the police say they do not have resources especially in the COVID period police officers are sick and so on and I think this government has started on a good footing because I think I did see a news article a couple of weeks or days ago where the government were able to give the police force a few vehicles so I think it's very timely that this charge is coming for the police right after in that bill and so I implore ensure that they use these resources as the law allows them to do it to ensure that we protect our citizens Mr President adequate staffing of our courts of our social service departments safe houses for the victims robust family placement systems especially for children who have been displaced because we need to protect them job placement programs for victims and a while ago my senator colleague Dill mentioned in terms of the cost attached to the protection order and I do agree with him that we cannot in the law also put some caveats that disenfranchise or create stumbling blocks for the process to happen seamlessly and I think one of the things that are important especially the fact that we're defining domestic violence and indicating that one of the forms Mr President is economic abuse I think it's also important that we start looking at some sort of job placement program for victims of victims of domestic abuse so that they can start to reintegrate in society and give them that level of power that level of comfort that they can go into a program rather than allowing them to solely depend on perhaps other types of social safety net or what we refer to as handouts. Mr President as well, counseling services healthcare services, I think these are in need of augmenting and the charge is on the minister responsible here to ensure that there is advocation and advice whether that is concerned to ensure that this sort of legislation has some level of teeth. There is great emphasis on the training of criminal justice and healthcare workers and that is one of the other aspects of the piece of legislation that has stood out to me Mr President and I think it's important as a society that all of us play our part too often we give lip service to the phenomena that a society is like a body and it's made up of parts and that every one of us whether it be the private sector, government departments, civil service societies need to play their part in ensuring that we have a society that is safer for all of us and so the emphasis on training of criminal justice and healthcare workers I think it's very important there and as well the level of confidentiality that we that must be emphasized when it comes to these departments and the intricacies of the information that they will come across on a regular basis in dealing with these issues All in all Mr President I think that we are on a good footing like I said before to equalize and re-engineer a more comfortable society where victims are not treated as criminals or not made to feel a shame of their fate we need to protect our children we need to protect our women our boys and our men and not let them feel intimidated by their situation but I think it's important like some of those I've said before me in terms of the education aspect I think it's important that we go on a robust education drive to assist in the re-engineering of what has become the role in our society and like Senator Paulius mentioned before we lived in a time where it was stopped to be okay to be in such situations where domestic violence was the order of the day it was okay to hit and to knock and to call out names it was for Senator Prospe to call names and to jam so I think what we need to do now is to go on this education drive and begin from the very early ages and you know some things that will be done before Mr. President we seem to lose it I remember my son I think it was my son and I don't take much of my daughter who's a little younger the whole phenomenon of good touch, bad touch I'm pretty sure the educators amongst me remember when these things were drilled into our children from an early age what's a good touch and I think we need to bring a lot of these things back and this will really help us to be able to uphold what we're trying to create in this piece of legislation I think we need to create a whole societal freeze all the things that we have considered okay in terms of domestic violence that we can re-engineer and re-educate ourselves and our society about it Mr. President if I may and unfortunately my Senate colleague Polius is not seated in the chamber I applaud her for indicating that she stood in support of the bill she started a presentation by indicating that you do not simply oppose for a poor's sake but I was very baffled that she spent even more time opposing even when her opening statement had indicated that she was in support of the bill and I want to place on the record Mr. President that we need not be comfortable in our partisan spaces to reprimand one type of behavior considered abuse whilst we go about being silent about other aspects of it and I don't want to dive in it too much just to mention it on the surface in terms of the illustration that she drew and I think you guided her according to Mr. President in terms of the illustration that she drew on the proverbial the word being spoken about the previous prime minister's skin color but I dare say that on the other side of the fence the current prime minister has been pricked and pointed about his tottering issue but I have not heard her speak about that situation and so I'm simply saying that if we're going to reprimand it on one side we need to reprimand it on the other side but like I said Mr. President I'm not going to go too much into that otherwise I could have spoken of she spoke of the gentleman outside parliament on Tuesday but I could go to a pre-election here and speak of the United Workers Party who basically drove a vehicle into a crowd of supporters but I'm not going to go down that line Mr. President in her constituency so I think that's important that we create that level of balance and if we're going to speak again something that we do not do it out of convenience but we do it because we genuinely understand that there is a need for us to to start speaking a language of what we want to see the changes we want to see in our society and I think it was on her platform as well the government business that the current parliamentary reform it could north some very unsavory words who said about his his behaviour when the minister's account was being spoken to but she did not denounce it Mr. President let me continue so I want to place on the record my support for this domestic violence bill I want as well to applaud the SLP administration for tabling what we have heard before and what has been echoed before a long standing piece of legislation and it took them seven to eight months as a sitting government to bring this bill into the parliament of St. Lucia and to ask the indulgence of the upper house and the lower house in ensuring that we move it along and I want to applaud them for that it definitely took less time than the ironing out of an airwaves license but we understand why and I think it's in keeping Mr. President with the philosophy of the SLP on bread the pillars of bread freedom and justice and on the campaign promise to put people first and this bill is people centered Mr. President it is about the people, it is about the boy the girl, the man and the woman the people in our country St. Lucia and I applaud them for that I need also to congratulate the minister responsible who presented the bill Mr. President and I have had occasion where I have had the privilege to speak with her and I know how excited she was and how she wanted to ensure that that domestic violence bill finally stopped taking dust on a shelf somewhere in an ages office and I know she is elated, I know how proud she is and I stand with her as well that we've gotten to the point where we can table this bill where we can get the support of the members of parliament and as well I am also proud that I have stood there today and I think it is the first time that I have stood in this honorable house and where I feel that there is a corrective voice in terms of the tabling of a piece of legislation and so I think it speaks to the importance the timing of this piece of legislation very comprehensive piece of legislation Mr. President and so I too lend my support to the bill and I look forward to the different aspects of the bill being actually materialized so that our people feel safer in our little piece of greenery on this planet I thank you for your indulgence Mr. President Senator Senator Aziz Mr. President I too wish to add my voice and condolences to the family of Officer Tomet and his friends and comrades in the Royal Salvation Police Force who mourned his loss who mourned his passing I would also like to offer prayers for a speed recovery to Special Police Constable Isaac Calvin who is nursing his wounds and recovering at present I have heard much said about violence today and I know that we are all concerned about these instances of violent crimes in our midst and that I have no doubt that we share the same resolve that are more coordinated partnership and more targeted actions are needed if these are to be reduced let me also take the opportunity to extend related happy independent happy International Women's Day to the women across St. Lucia and to also pledge my solidarity and my support with them as they continue to advocate for rights rights and a balanced playing field from which to make their contribution Mr. President I wish to raise commendations on the Government of St. Lucia the Honourable Minister for Gender Affairs and other civil society partners for the crafting and presentation of the Domestic Violence Bill to the House of Assembly on International Women's Day this year I am not alone when I say that it is a milestone achievement worthy of the accolades showered upon it while personally I am not fully acquainted with the legislation and the absence of legislation surrounding matters of domestic violence going through the bill I struggled to understand why there was an absence of passion and resolved to champion such a legislation for over two and a half decades now that it has come before the House we are pleased to hear showers of praise and support but it begs the question why actors who preceded us did not see it to champion as passionately the tabling of this bill before the House it really brings me no comfort to know that had parliamentarians moved faster to support and introduce such legislation sooner so many lives could have been shielded from the evils of domestic violence I am moved to express profound sympathy for the survivors of domestic violence many of whom have possibly suffered in silence for far too long I grieve also for those who may have lost loved ones despite desperate but futile attempts to compel authorities to act in those instances where it was believed to have occurred reflecting on the bill before us I am thoroughly impressed with the very comprehensive definition of domestic violence and like my colleague Senators who preceded me I am pleased to note that it references not only actions but also encompasses intentions to act in a manner that endangers someone I am pleased to note that the definitions also include cyber stalking psychological abuse and intimidation it clearly not only captures the physical but also the psychological verbal and emotional tactics used by cowards to dehumanize and subdue others both within and outside the sacred halls of a domestic setting Mr. President I cannot help but wonder had we moved to bring such violence forward decades ago what impact it could have had on the current scourge of violent crimes ripping across our country for the past two years in particular reviewing the bill I was moved to speculate on how many of our current perpetrators of violent crimes could possibly have been children themselves unwitting witnesses to violence in the homes recipients of verbal, psychological physical ridicule and abuse which shaped their tender minds and hardened their resolve to lash out at society is it at all possible is it possible that the ripple effect of domestic violence when left unattended at its formative stages come back to haunt us as a society dangling our failures before us in the form of drug abuse rape intolerance insolence and gang warfare and Mr. President I have no doubt that each of us have in some way shape or form been exposed to domestic violence or the consequences of domestic violence going through the bill it brought back horrible memories of personal experiences that I had as a teacher at the view for it comprehensive secondary school campus be so many moons ago when a student took it upon himself with a cutlass to butcher the principal and another incident where a young lady felt such a high level of profound hopelessness in her teachers in the institution and perhaps even within the confines of her home that she took to consuming a pesticide that resulted in her death many moons later as I too underwent therapy to manage the emotions resulting from that horrible experience of those horrible experiences you can't help but ask what was going on in the homes of these kids that went missed how could the homes have failed these kids how could other institutions like perhaps our churches perhaps our school clubs perhaps our schools and teachers themselves how could we have missed how could we have failed to have these heinous incidents of crime culminate with our young people right before our very eyes I know though that it is the hope of many that this bill once made law will compel action on behalf of the survivors of domestic violence and this is good but we must now find the financial resources to arm the relevant actors charged with its implementation to competently dispense their duties we need money we need money as a small island developing state resources are scarce but the need here is urgent and the need here is great and we will have equally positive impact on lives if we are to commit the necessary financing to the work which has to be done once this bill is made law financing it therefore must be a high level priority communities must be educated shelters must be funded perpetrators must be held accountable and survivors must be supported to recover and become productive citizens Mr. President I am pleased to support this domestic violence bill which in my opinion indeed represents a zero tolerance approach to domestic violence thank you Senator Reynolds thank you very much Mr. President Mr. President I rise in support of the bill which is placed before us this afternoon but before I delve into my presentation if you would allow me Mr. President to join the voices of those before me to extend sincere condolences to the family of Officer E. Antimet also the members of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force on his untimely passing in truth a serious real strategy also I wish to extend Getwell wishes and adequate support to Officer Calvin I am pleased Mr. President to know that the briefing sessions have been arranged its ongoing for the traumatic traumatized members of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force and I commend this government and the departments who are offering such support I also wish to extend condolences Mr. President to the families of loved ones Dr. Derrick King who is the brother of Dr. Owen King who is the doctor the Owen King Hospital was named after Owen King Hospital his brothers passed away Dr. Derrick King and I wish to offer condolences to the family and the medical fraternity condolences also to the family of Jeff Faley and the media fraternity of St. Lucia and happy International Women's Month to all the women of St. Lucia and especially the women colleagues within this space it is indeed Mr. President a historic moment when on Tuesday 8th March 2022 when the domestic violence bill was passed in the lower house Mr. President it was heartwarming and I wish to commend the honorable minister Dr. Virginia Albert Poyote who is here with us at this point and of course the many many champions who came along the way to make it a reality I start with Magistrate Lauren Williams who relayed to me again what happened some 25 plus years ago when she came down to the lower house to commend the domestic violence bill along the way as I indicated Mr. President there were many champions whom I have met some I have worked with some of them were my mentors some of them my supervisors my tutors, my colleagues I mentioned people like Ioni Lingaford who was to me a mentor Arthur Zassimei and a supervisor Marcia Lesmo Lauren Williams Cementia Eugene these all taught me in some way and colleagues like Elizabeth Lewis Charmes Gasper Linda Eristy Jenny Joseph and Minister Poyote who are colleagues of mine Mr. President under the OECS legislative reform project there were five pieces of legislation the work started years ago and continued during my watch and the five pieces of legislation included the Child Justice Act the Child Care Protection and Adoption Act the status of the child the Child the Maintenance Bill and the Domestic Violence Bill all these five pieces of legislation were championed by the OECS and I want to commend the OECS secretariat the staff and all the consultants who were involved in that project during that time not all countries of the OECS have implemented all of these bits of legislation to also commend the former minister of education and ensuring the passage of the Child Justice Act and the Child Care Protection and Adoption Act of 2018 Yes Mr. President when they have done well we must acknowledge the work that is done so I want to commend the former minister for education and I want to say a big thank you and salute the minister for gender affairs who for taking the Domestic Violence Bill through to its final leg during this week I want to extend thanks Mr. President to all civil society organizations the CAFR raise your voice and the president and members who continue to agitate and champion to ensure that Domestic Violence Bill came through Mr. President and now for the bill the Domestic Violence Bill I refer to it as the family bill because Mr. President it is meant to prevent to stop criminal activity in the family in the household in the home in a place where we call a place of refuge we are speaking about crime prevention across the board and it must start within the most precious institution of the entire region which is the family we cannot have we should not have violence in any space but definitely not within the family and so the bill is defined the domestic violence is defined on page 12 and 13 a very broad definition Mr. President and when we talk about violence it's any action that is taken to harm to injure or endanger one's health one's safety one's life and limb and mental or physical any pain at all that is inflicted in one way or another we refer to it as violence and the examples include the threats of physical abuse as we all know emotional and so it's all alluded to the psychological psychological emotional and mental abuse that we do not see the scarring that we do not see on any one person and it also speaks to the threats of physical abuse the threats of sexual abuse and so threats are to be taken seriously the intention expressing an intention to harm is within the definition of domestic violence or violence on its own Mr. President as one who has been trained in counseling psychology and has worked and continued to work with victims of domestic violence I can say it is somewhat difficult for persons or people to understand emotional psychological or mental abuse intimidation and stopping it's a bit difficult for the average person to understand it especially in this era of social media but it is very serious Mr. President because it leads to suicidal thoughts it leads to wanting to harm themselves it leads to low self esteem and a whole range of psychological issues and bear with me Mr. President as I've had many experiences too many to mention Mr. President I've had to deal with students as a new counselor in a secondary school I had to deal with students who were suicidal for whatever reason was happening at home and then Mr. President sexual abuse of violation of a female student and Mr. President it came about during a health and family life lesson when I was dealing with sexual abuse and the discussion was going on and leaflets and so on and when I got back to my counseling room I received the note I can't remember how I got it but a note where a child says no matter what I said to him he would not stop Mr. President I stopped that was my first case and as a new counselor just into the system I had to call on my supervisor Mr. President what was almost traumatic for me as a new counselor was having to accompany this child to the office or the a health space or doctor to examine this child for there to be proof that she had been sexually abused what was worse Mr. President was that the doctor was male and this child had been abused by her stepfather can you imagine the horror of this child I recall that Mr. President and that's why I am ever so supportive of this bill that's why when I sat down with the consultants during my time as Minister of Health I had to support and pushed for all these five pieces of legislation to go through because the children of this country and the children of the OECS need our protection they need our health they need our support the women and men and elderly and people with disability they all need our protection and our support the cybers talking Mr. President I can talk about this as well where a young teacher from our community had her pictures posted on social media by her own boyfriend relevant Mr. President how it got there but he used that against her and Mr. President I got the call because she wanted to commit suicide among one end of the country and she's at another end and Mr. President I had to continue counseling for nights on end and she lost her job because the principal thought that she would not have such a teacher on her staff because all the parents were up in arms this is unacceptable for a teacher to have her pictures exposed her body exposed and they didn't want her teaching the children she lost her job and she is abused mentally emotionally psychologically and now deprived economically because she lost her job and now up and down to the police station in the community to see how she can get justice how can they prove this type of bullying a lot has happened Mr. President it was tiring and I met this victim only once when she recognized my voice in her story and she came up to say thanks I'm grateful that she's alive Mr. President in clauses 3 to 5 on page 17 of the bill it speaks to the powers of the minister that clause 3 section B it speaks to ensure access to and provide services for the victims and other persons affected by acts of domestic violence including children it speaks to providing guidance to public officers on the practices to be used when responding and providing services to a victim Mr. President the minister can present those policies these policies can be drafted just like the bill can be drafted unfortunately the minister cannot be everywhere ensuring that these are implemented so I wish to call on the public officers within all the various departments who will be responsible or are responsible for providing that kind of support to victims of domestic violence to take it seriously to be diligent to be vigilant to show empathy when relating to victims of domestic violence you see Mr. President there are protocols established already should have been in every police station and how to police officers should respond to victims when the call comes but you see police officers rotate they move from one police station to different departments and so then you come in and so there must be constant training and sensitization constant and officer our senator colleague spoke well when he spoke about lots and lots of money there is need for that to continue the training that speaks to the services that the minister must ensure would be in place the crisis intervention services the immediate transportation from the victims residence to the medical center or shelter we have one shelter supposing the victim is in souffle in view 4th we have one vehicle and so there is need to to upgrade the services very proudly the minister alluded to that there are agencies are there waiting for the passage of this bill so that support could be accessed resources could be accessed from agencies international agencies to help us in putting things in place I want to speak to a particular situation as we speak to the health and social services being adequately resourced and staffed with persons trained to assist victims Mr. President again I had an experience with a young mother who was a victim of domestic violence she left her home somewhere in castries at 11pm and she was climbing her way down to the police station with a baby maybe about 2 years old and somehow Mr. President my number always pops up on phones and so I'm calling and I'm trying to seek here a safe space for this young mother the police got involved picked her up spend the night and next day she had to be brought in to the home the shelter but there are protocols Mr. President the shelter cannot just accept a victim and so the victim must go through psychological assessment even before psychological assessment there must be physical assessment by a medical practitioner to ensure that there were no cuts bruises that might be causing one problem or another and Mr. President this young lady spent hours on end at the hospital awaiting that assessment by a medical practitioner they took no notice of her because they said it is not an emergency and she left the hospital at night went back home then next day again back to the police station it must be a police officer to take her to the hospital Mr. President she stayed for hours the baby on her arm at some point she has nothing to eat because she has no money I had to find someone to get leave his work space get two of you know it was 6, 7 o'clock no restaurants are open get fish and fries to take to the hospital call her name out on that because she knows nobody we don't know each other and it's a whole barrage of stress for the victim we don't need this so yes the minister has the responsibility to put these things in place but the minister cannot police the social and health officers within the various departments so I want to implore them today to do the job and do it with heart to look out for those victims and give support and give it quickly and if it's not working I trust this minister of gender affairs will do what is necessary to improve the services out there I trust her word when she stood where almost here I think where I'm standing to make this pronouncement on Tuesday we must make the system work for the victims of domestic violence we must make it work the reporting of domestic violence in clause 7 Mr President it's in keeping with the child care protection and adoption act when a person who has knowledge or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is committing has committed is likely to commit an act of domestic violence against a child the person shall immediately make a report to a police officer now Mr President we've had many debates about this especially officers within the education sector educators who are petrified of reporting because you see Mr President it's a small society supposing the perpetrator has a brother who works at the police station would the teacher trust to call this police officer at the police station and say I suspect or I have been told that this child is being molested and the perpetrator is the police officer's brother how do we work around this there is always a way there is a vulnerable persons unit and if within the police station in the community one knows that the perpetrator has a relative at that police station call at another police station but never I say to the educators never let that case go unreported we must save our children and so there are other persons within various departments who have been listed here for A the psychologist for B the health practitioner a nurse and a signed officer a teacher a person who is in position of trust or authority towards a child teachers local parent we are second parents we are to protect the children if as a teacher we know and I have heard teachers discuss I have been at a rake and heard teachers talking about a particular child who has been abused and I asked them around have any one of you reported the child but then you see there is a part that says a civil action shall somebody who sorry we go back to 5 without real evidence or refuses to make a report to the police officer commits an offense and is liable or semi-conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 that's on page 20 up in arms so if I don't report I can be charged I don't think the bill is meant to scare anybody into reporting or threatening anybody with charges I think it wants to show how serious this is and that we as a community as a people must take responsibility for our children it takes a whole village to raise and protect a child and protect anyone who is vulnerable so yes reporting is a must anyone who has responsibility for the vulnerable or the victim close it part 2 about reporting but before that Mr President I want to speak about a nurse or a registered nurse when else you have 5 minutes left thank you very much I will be closing in a bit when we talk about people within the health sector a nurse might see a child shows up below the age of consent and is pregnant has signs of sexually transmitted infections etc dashes on the body whether it's a baby or a teenager is obligated to report and the section 2 without prejudice to the police act caption 14.01 a police officer shall respond to each report of an act of domestic violence by conducting an investigation whether or not the person making the report is a victim very importantly Mr President and I speak to the situation in the UK with the Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson where his neighbors reported to the police that there was something happening at their home at his girlfriend's flat when he entered there was a domestic altercation screaming shouting banging get off me get out of my flat and so the neighbors recorded it and called the police within 5 minutes there were 2 cars and 1 van he was not even Prime Minister yet so the neighbor called the neighbors name Tom Penn and he said I would encourage anyone to record any instances where they feel concerned for another person's safety unquote and this is what I want to share with St. Lucia's Mr President look at the situation in Jackmel where your son killed his mother a few days before Christmas but years and months before the neighbors have been hearing threats being issued from one to the other the mother threatened the son the son is threatening the mother but nobody reported to the police one does not have to be a victim to report and so I want to encourage St. Lucia's to be vigilant and to call the police so that we could all protect each other let's be our brothers keeper and just before I close Mr President I applaud the members opposite for supporting the bill and I heard Senator Polius alluding to the comments made about the former Prime Ministers you know and so on but I'm saying Mr President there are a number of times that we saw name-calling happening publicly mendicants, jacasses you know, backing dogs and even the media professionals being treated and threatened Trisha Lionel was threatened Janika Simon was ignored Rianne Ilzidow was told to make a failure son to shut up all kinds of things happened so we must always be vigilant and say if it's wrong at the time say it's wrong at the time but we are I agree with Senator Polius all of us have a responsibility Mr President with this bill we cannot say domestic violence is not our business it gives and I'm happy that in Clause 9, 10 and 12 it gives the police powers of entry arrest and detention there are clear guidelines for our police officers to domestic violence situation in St Lucia the intervention, the rehabilitation the counseling and group therapy I want to see and we will see those programs being implemented at the various departments and page 43, information to victims and applicants regarding their rights it's included in this bill I support public education needed across the country Mr President unfortunately no radios in Lucia so we have to find other means on the ground to reach the people again I salute all those who facilitated this process the time is now I salute the minister for gender affairs and all the other champions who came before us the time is now here it is no longer drink my water and mind my business it's time to mind each other's business to protect each other to support each other as we put children first we put adults first we put men first we put women first we put people with disabilities first all persons will put them first to prevent domestic violence I thank you Mr President I want to tell you the question is that the domestic violence bill will be read a second time I'm sorry but your light was not on I already called it your light was not on I now put the question as many as I have that opinion say aye as many as I have a contrary opinion say no the eyes of it the eyes of it I am here for the protection of victims of domestic violence the grant of a protection order and for related matters the senators shall be taking the bill in parts so clause two interpretation clause two stands part of the bill part one closes three to five administration amendments Mr President and clause four the training of criminal justice and health authorities clause four one should be amended to read as follows the commission of police after consultation with the director shall make available and deliver on an annual basis education and training programs to police officers with respect to the procedures for responding to the act of domestic violence and clause four two should be amended as follows the chief justice after consultation with the director shall ensure that magistrates receive specialized training in hearing domestic violence in matters and the clause four three Mr President should be amended as follows the minister responsible for health after consultation with the director shall make available and deliver education and training programs for healthcare and social service professionals with respect to the procedures for assisting victims on clauses three to five stands part of the bill part two clauses six to thirteen stands part of the bill part three clauses 14 to 48 protection orders Mr President under part three protection order clause 19 the application for an interim protection order to be lodged with the director the clause 19 heading I propose that we delete the word director and replace that word with the word court in clause 19 one that is in line two we delete the word director and also replace with the word court and clause 19 two the entire paragraph should be deleted clause 25 under filing of the affidavit by a respondent clause 25 one line three we should insert court and before the word director court and in clause 27 under the affidavit in reply to the affidavit filed by the respondent in the clause 27 in line three we should insert the word court and before the word director clause 29 the documents be submitted by the court to the court by the director under clause 29 the heading we need to delete the word director and also in clause 29 it should be amended as follows and should read on the date fixed by the court for the proceedings the following documents must be submitted to the court so it should read as such and we're going up to 35 Mr President so I would think that clause 35 under notice and service of a final protection order under clause 35 we should delete the word director and replace with the word court clause part three clause is 14 to 48 stands part of the bill clause 49 to 51 conduct of court proceedings clause 4 clause 49 to 51 stands part of the bill order v clauses 52 to 58 Mr Lanius order v clauses 52 to 58 stands part of the bill schedule section 8 information to victim and applicant regarding his or her rights schedule stands part of the bill clause 1 short title clause 1 stands part of the bill senators the question is that the committee arises and the bill be reported I now put the question as many as this opinion say aye as many as I have a country opinion say no I think the ayes have it the ayes have it the senator says I beg to report that the domestic violence bill went through committees to close it sorry it went through the committee without amendments the president sorry let me read that again senators I beg to report that the domestic the domestic violence bill went through committee without amendments without the amendments made downstairs we did the men here we did the government business thank you Mr President I move that the report of the committee be adopted and that the bill be read third time and passed senators the question is that the report of the committee be adopted and that the domestic violence bill be read a third time and passed I now put the question as many as I have that opinion say aye as many as I have a country opinion say no I think the ayes have it the ayes have it by and with the advice and consent of the House of Assembly and the senator Senutia and by the authority of the same as follows this act may be cited as the domestic violence act 2022 did the government business Mr President I move for the suspension of the sitting until 3.15 for lunch senators the question is that the sitting of the senate be suspended until what time until 3.15 so we have 45 minutes as many as I have that opinion say aye as many as I have a country opinion say no I think the ayes have it the ayes have it well we have come to the end of this morning session of the House of the Senate and the bills that received attention this morning as the the supplementary appropriation bill to the sum of 9,870 thousand $400 for the financial year 2020 on 2022 and domestic violence bill it received quite a bit of attention as happened during the the sitting of parliament a number of senators made the contribution among them the Honourable Jawa Will Honourable Jan Ferdinand Honourable Senator Schloss Honourable Pauline Antoine Prosper Honourable Jill E. Leigh Kajiana Tussier Honourable Senator Tussier Senator Aziz and lastly Senator Reynolds the House is adjourned for lunch and we will be back at 3.15 to recommend the afternoon session of the Senate and so I ask you to join us in at about 3.15 when the engine will again bring you live the Senate sitting here at parliament on Prime Minister Jensen thank you for viewing and again do join us at about 3.15 for the recommendation of the Senate sitting