Protecting Children Must be Everyone’s Business

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

Musa spoke generally about crime as it affects the wider public. But his colleague, Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos-Garcia was particularly concerned about crimes perpetrated on children and women.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“Madam Speaker within our Ministry and working together with our ministry, we have our dear Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children, Mrs. Rossana Briceño. We have the National Commission for Families and Children and the National Women’s Commission, the National Council for Ageing; our Disabilities desk, headed by Mr. Marshall Nunez. We have our Community Rehabilitation Department; our Family and Women’s Support Department, and of course the Human Services Department, Madam Speaker. All are equipped and programmed to help but we cannot do it alone. Along with the Ministry of Human Development Department and our partners and our entire community, we must get involved in recognizing and working to prevent gender-based violence and the abuse of our children. The networks that we need, our dear Belizean people, involve the family, ministries, faith organizations, the Police who are struggling and doing what I consider what I consider to be a good job, the business community, the media, non-governmental and community-based organizations – we all need to work together.”