Domestic Violence: A Stark Reality for the Working Class

This week, the spotlight turned to the troubling issue of domestic violence as it played out in the media. Popular artist Huston Alvarez, better known as “Hubee,” was escorted to court and charged with harm following a domestic altercation with his girlfriend last Thursday.  In a Facebook post, Alvarez expressed deep regret over the incident. Despite his public apology, he pleaded not guilty in court, a move that has sparked criticism from some quarters.  This incident is a stark reminder of the many domestic violence cases that occur weekly across the country. These cases often involve the police, the Women and Family Support Department, and both private and public sector counselors, all working tirelessly to help the affected parties regain a sense of normalcy.  News Five’s Marion Ali delves deeper into this pressing issue in her report.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Most calls for help in domestic violence situations are made through nine-one-one calls or through calls to the police landline. The calls are forwarded to the Family Violence Unit which responds to these cases.

 

A.S.P Mariette Robateau, Commander, Family Violence Unit, Eastern Division

“We would go to that person’s home and we would always take the person, and if that victim at that home – we see any injuries on that person, we would first take that person to the hospital. Then we would take the perpetrator, and we would detain that person if that person is around where we can find [them] right away.”

 

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mariette Robateau says when police officers who deal with these cases get the report, they act promptly to prevent a bad situation from getting worse. After the victim makes a formal report, the matter is pursued in the court, where the victim can get protection.

 

A.S.P Mariette Robateau

“We would send victims to go to the Family Court, and they can apply for a protection order, they can apply for occupation order, and other services through the Family Court.”

 

Counseling is also offered at the Family Violence Unit and what they deem as cases that need advanced intervention are referred to the Women and Family Support Department. Onando St. Bernard is the Counseling Coordinator at that unit.

 

Onando St. Bernard, Counseling Coordinator, Women and Family Support Department

“Many survivors who come in will come in just for one session and they’ll vent. They’ll just vent with the pain and suffering that they’ve gone through. And so in those situations, we try to employ a solution-focused brief therapy, and we also try to ensure that we do a safety plan so that they have something in black and white that they can take with them to  give them that confidence to know that they can get away or that they can do something, they can reach out to different organizations as well. For those individuals who come in and who are working with us for a longer period of time, there are different types of therapies that we will do with them.

 

The Department is spearheaded by Human Dev. Coordinator, Cynthia Willams.  She says the problem is prevalent among people of working age.

 

Cynthia Williams, Human Dev. Coordinator, Women and Family Support Dept.

“Last year, 2023, nationally, there were one thousand two hundred and fifty reported cases of domestic violence and these are data that come from the Belize Police Department. In comparison to the previous year, in 2022, that was a five percent increase because it was only a thousand and ninety-nine cases. So one of the things that we notice, even as we deal with cases individually, we notice that most of these cases are within the age ranges of eighteen years and forty-five years.”

 

ASP Robateau says that in her relatively short time as commander of the Family Violence Unit at Eastern Division, something that concerns her deeply is an increase in cases of violence against the elderly.

 

A.S.P Mariette Robateau

“I have been here for a year at the Family Violence Unit as a commander and what I have seen arise in cases that are, abuse against older persons, especially when it comes to your parents, there has been an increase where it comes to like parent/child-abuse cases. We have seen the child abusing their parents. The society, you know, is changing and children are very being very disrespectful towards their parents now. So we have to pay keen attention when it comes to that and try to assist those elderly persons that are living in those homes with those abusive children.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.