Vidal Orellano, the father of little Gabriel Orellano who tragically drowned after escaping from Stella Maris School on Monday afternoon, has been receiving support to lay his son to rest. The community has shown immense kindness, reaching out to help after heartbreaking videos surfaced showing Gabriel running through several streets before slipping into the sea and drowning. While some have criticized those who saw the child running in heavy traffic and doing nothing, there’s also an understanding that people might hesitate to approach a fleeing child for fear of being seen as predators. Adele Catzim, C.E.O. in the Ministry of Human Development, suggests that people can still help by calling the relevant authorities.
Adele Catzim-Sanchez
Adele Catzim-Sanchez, C.E.O., Ministry of Human Development
“People don’t want to be perceived as predators for children, and so, yes, it is true that we’re not encouraging people to be predators. But when we do see that a child is in need or in assistance, at least we can stop to lend a hand. At least we can stop to inquire, find out why that child is there, and we can call the police, we can ask them if they have the number for their parent, who their parent is, we can call the Department of Human Services. That’s what it is and so there are things that we can do. Yes, we know that there might be predators who are trying to do things, but if people were trying to intervene and someone saw that there might be a predator, they would at least have called the police or called someone else, and maybe there would’ve been more of a quicker intervention for a child. We know we cannot turn the clock backwards, but we do need to use this as an opportunity to learn and to be more responsive as a society. And again, I do reiterate that it’s not everyone who was unresponsive. There were people who tried to intervene and I think that if we can at least highlight that as something that is positive, it encourages other people to then want to intervene.”
The Belize Police Department’s decision to rename the Domestic Violence Unit has sparked some controversy. Today, Commissioner of Police Williams addressed the criticism, noting that some people believe the new name, Gender-Based Violence Response and Investigative Unit, panders to the LGBTQ+ community. Williams emphasized that the police are committed to protecting everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or any other differences.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We have had the domestic violence unit in place for quite a number of years now and with the evolving of time, we saw the need to change the name from domestic violence unit domestic violence to gender based violence response and investigation unit. At the end of the day we have to look beyond he domestic issue in terms of what happens in a home between a man woman and child And see how we can encapsulate those other factors where gender violence is concerned and so the unit is now going to be tasked with that responsibility of making sure that we can capture everybody at the end of the day, as a police organization, we cannot discriminate. I know that there are some school of thought out there who are already spewing some of their own agenda, that this is being done with a view to accommodate the LGBTQ, whatever it may be. But, at the end of the day, we have to understand that whether a person is straight, bisexual, heterosexual, or whatever. We as a department must represent them. We cannot tell people that because you’re this, we cannot represent you. We are an organization that is created with the intent to make sure we protect everybody regardless of your race, color, culture, creed, sexual orientation as the case may be. So we are extremely proud of the move that we are making now to ensure that we have a progressive unit within our department to be able to address these issues, all forms of gender, gender based violence in Belize.”
Williams acknowledged that officers need more comprehensive training to effectively handle sensitive gender-based violence cases. He also highlighted the importance of collaborating with relevant agencies and organizations, including those supporting the LGBTQ community, to address these issues together.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We have to look at extensive training again with a change of focus or with the additional responsibility given to the unit. Now, there certainly is going to be a need for more training for the officers who work within the unit. And not just those officers, but every police officer so they can understand the dynamism of gender-based violence. It cannot be that we give them certain responsibilities and we do not explain to them or give them something that will be able to help them to understand and properly respond to these issues. And so, training is going to be essential. And Mr. Jones and the director of training is also our work are going to work together to ensure that we get the right people on board to provide that training for us. Additionally, we have to look at also working with other organizations, human development, community rehab, even the, the LGBTQ communities. We have to look at them as well, so that we can get their input in terms of the training that we may need to sensitize our officers, in terms of how to deal with issues, um, involving them.”
The Domestic Violence Unit of the Belize Police Department has long been known for its crucial role in defusing heated disputes and helping to put perpetrators behind bars with solid evidence. The unit also works closely with the Ministry of Human Development. Now, as of New Year’s Day, it has been rebranded as the Gender-Based Violence Response and Investigative Unit (GVRIU). This change, while still under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been warmly welcomed by Minister Dolores Balderamos-Garcia.
On the Phone: Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams called me on it and I ran it by our senior staff and we said, absolutely. We embrace and we welcome the change because, you know, the word domestic when you talk about, if you talk about, if you use domestic as a noun, a domestic means somebody who works in the home or in the house and then when you say domestic violence, it’s violence in the home. However, Gender based violence cuts right across the board, whether it is in the workplace, whether it’s on the street, there are so many things that happen in terms of the, of the gendered aspect of violence, whether it be sexual harassment and, you know, we have new sexual harassment legislation. Like I say, whether it’s on the street at the workplace when you’re traveling, when you’re moving around, um, there is violence, which is gender based and so it does not only occur in the home.”
The combined efforts aim to tackle gender-based violence in all its forms, including domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, and harassment. In a press release, the police department stated that the new name aligns with its evolving mission to address violence not only within domestic settings but also in various scenarios where individuals face violence based on their gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Minister Balderamos-Garcia recalled a harrowing incident involving a San Pedro woman who was viciously attacked and beaten by her estranged husband in November. The woman had to jump off a moving jet ski to seek help in Caye Caulker after being taken hostage. The minister highlighted the reality that many victims choose not to pursue a court case but want their report on record for future reference, should they face a similar situation with the same offender.
On the Phone: Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“I want to mention something that came to my attention about a month and a half ago that sometimes when women file a report or make a report to the police, and they say it is for future reference. In other words, it was serious enough. Whatever incident it may have been, the woman felt and I’m speaking specifically about women – now, the woman may have felt that it was significant enough to make a report to the police, but based on many, many human factors, she may not want to pursue a criminal charge against the perpetrator. So she says, “I am filing this report for future reference.” And so, it came to my attention that sometimes the court system may wish to take the view that, “Oh, you know, if you’re filing a report for future reference, then you’re going to come to court and withdraw the case and waste our time.” And so, now, please, I am not throwing any stone at any individual magistrate or legal person or judge. I’m just saying that sometimes you may have the attitude that, oh, you know, they’re going to come to court and withdraw the charge. And so it is not something that we should get into. I want to say that that is not something that any court system should do. I would highly decry and discourage that because we all know that when it comes to gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, these issues are extremely complex, difficult to deal with. And why? Because many, many times children are involved and a woman. Even a man, but mostly the woman would stay in the relationship because of the children and because of wanting to keep the family together, despite maybe an ongoing abuse, which is verbal, which is, you know, by gestures, by actions, by withholding money for the household.”
On Sunday, a fatal stabbing occurred in Corozal involving a man allegedly in a relationship with a teenage minor. Reports say Anthony Lewis visited the girl’s home and got into a heated altercation with her family members. During the scuffle, he was fatally wounded. No arrests have been made yet, as investigators are seeking further directives from the D.P.P.’s office.
“On Sunday, December 22nd, 2024, police responded to a disturbance at G Street in Corozal Town. Upon their arrival, they found the lifeless body of a male person identified as Anthony Lewis, with injuries to the head. Investigation revealed that Lewis came to that house and he had a dispute with the family members there. There was a struggle which led to injuries being caused upon him. This matter is being investigated and the file will be sent to the DPP for directives.”
Reporter
“So as of now it’s just a death investigation.”
Hilberto Romero
“It is. Anthony Lewis had no lawful authority to be at that house. He was there and confronted the members there and so the injuries were caused to him.
Reporter: Is it true that, because we received reports that he had some type of relationship with one of the men’s minor daughters.”
Hilberto Romero
“That is correct. He was presently on bail, as he was charged and taken to court. That matter is pending trial at the Supreme Court. Is that a possible motive for why they attacked him. He came to the house and they defended themselves and this is what happened.”
Reporter
“Was he acting aggressive?”
Hilberto Romero
“Yes, he attacked the family members at the house.”
Statistics reveal a troubling rise in domestic and gender-based violence cases over the past few years. Comparing 2022 to 2023, the Belize Police Department reported a five percent increase, with one thousand, two hundred and fifty cases in 2023 alone. Today kicks off Sixteen Days of Activism, featuring a series of special events aimed at combating gender-based violence. This year, the National Women’s Commission is determined to make a difference with the theme: ‘No Excuse for Violence Against Women and Girls.’ News Five’s Marion Ali has the story.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Everyone remembers the horrifying ordeal of a twenty-three-year-old pregnant woman from Belmopan who was held hostage for days and subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by her common-law husband and his family a few weeks ago. The vivid images of her wounds tell a harrowing story of what she endured. This week, we also heard about the terrifying experience of San Pedro resident Sabella Brakeman, allegedly at the hands of her estranged husband, Kenny Brakeman. These women’s stories painfully highlight what many others suffer at the hands of their partners or someone they know. And today, the launch of the Sixteen Days of Activism aims to inform victims like Sabella and the pregnant woman that they can access help before the situation reaches that stage. Often, the victim is a woman.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Chairperson, National Women’s Commission
“We are telling women, report, even if you choose then not to take it to court, not to have press charges, report it, report it, report it, so that we know what’s happening. Report it for future action, report it. to have it documented so that when you need to have a restraining order or you make up your mind that you need to have a restraining order, there is a clear history of abuse of violence, and you are able to get that quicker. Don’t sit at home and feel like this is normal. It helps us to know how many cases there are for resource allocation so that we can show the people that make policy, that assign budgets and resources, say, look at this, we need more social workers, we need more socio-economic help. Psychosocial help.”
Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Chair of the National Women’s Commission, pointed out that too often, the very cultures we celebrate also harbor elements of gender-based or domestic violence, and it all begins at home during childhood.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
“If you don’t know how to knead, and if that tortilla does not come out round, or if that fry jack nuh puff, and dem beat you, well you’ll look for it because you need to know these things. And so, it’s kind of ingrained, and then when it happens to you, when you are an adult in a union or a marriage, then it – my grandma tell me this may not happen anyway. So, it sort of gets normalized.”
President of the Senate, Carolyn Trench-Sandiford, shared her personal experiences with gender-based violence from her childhood on Alexandria Street, where such violence was sadly seen as normal.
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford, Resident, Belize City
“I could never forget my first experience. Now at the time it happened, you don’t know that what was happening was not right. But within our society, it was normal. Because we had a couple who the man, the husband, was an alcoholic. It was normal. At that time we didn’t know words like someone is an alcoholic and what flows from being an alcoholic. And whenever that person drank, everybody knows the wife may get into it. It was as simple as that. And you would hear the noise, you would hear the screams, and there were children in that environment as well. But you also heard it’s not your business, you’re not to get involved. When two head goh pahn pillow da night, dehn wa cuss you out. So you’re not to get involved and say anything about it.”
Many women find themselves in domestic situations where they’re expected to shoulder more of the workload just because of their gender. This, too, is a form of gender-based violence, as Ramirez pointed out.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
“Women who work a regular eight to five job and have to come home and do unpaid work, work at home for at least five or six hours every day more unpaid and the man if she has a husband or a partner comes home does a regular eight to five but he go home tired and can watch TV and does nothing to help around the house and that is normalized and that is violence. That is economic violence, that you both work, your both live, come home and do your share as well. But that is also normalized because that’s not a woman’s job and that’s not a woman’s work. So if you have a separate job, earning money to help pay the bills, you still have to come home and do that, and we normalized that.”
The commission’s staff made a short presentation titled “No Excuse” that reflected a part of this year’s theme.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
“He gets upset for no reason and slaps me in the head. He’s not himself. He had a bad day at work. He is not a hungry jerk. No excuse! Cooking in the kitchen, I’m behind just a bit late. When he came into the kitchen and stoned me with an dinner plate, he didn’t mean it, as the plate must have slipped, as he held it without a very tight grip.”
While the number of reported domestic and gender-based violence cases has risen at the Domestic Violence Unit and the Women’s Commission, this could be a sign that victims are finally heeding the advice to report these incidents. Today, the Chair of the National Women’s Commission suggested that the increase in reports might mean that victims and their families are now seeking help and involving the authorities, rather than suffering in silence.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Chair, National Women’s Commission
“We know that only about 40 percent of cases were being reported. So that means that the vast majority of cases of violence were not even reported. The uptick in cases being reported can actually mean that our job and our work is actually getting out there. It’s really functioning because we are telling women, report, even if you choose then not to take it to court, not to have press charges, report it.”
It’s been five days since Sabela Brakeman endured a brutal attack and kidnapping in her San Pedro home. Her estranged husband, Kenny Brakeman, allegedly broke in, beat her severely, and then took her on a jet ski. Sabela managed to escape near Caye Caulker and sought help from the police, identifying Kenny as her attacker. She had left him due to domestic violence and was living with a roommate. They shared custody of their three kids, aged eleven, nine, and four. Around one a.m. on Saturday, he allegedly broke in and beat her so badly she felt dizzy and nauseous. Kenny is still on the run, and the police are actively searching for him. Meanwhile, Sabela needs urgent surgical and dental treatment to fix a broken cheekbone, and teeth damaged during the assault. Her terrifying ordeal is, unfortunately, a reality for many facing domestic violence. Tonight, we’ll hear from an official at the National Women’s Commission about the support they offer to victims, and from Sabela herself, who has relocated with her children out of fear for their safety. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
On the Phone: Sabela Brakeman, Kidnap Victim
“All I wish is get him a message, let him turn himself in, let him turn himself in. I won’t deny my kids the right to visit him, if that is what he fears about, for giving himself in.”
Kenny Brakeman
Marion Ali, Reporting
Tonight, Sabela Brakeman recounts the terrifying ordeal where her estranged husband viciously beat her, dragged her from her home, and took her on a seemingly endless jet ski ride. He threatened to kill her but then changed his mind, saying he’d drop her off at the Corozal shores. Seizing a moment of courage, Sabela struck him, jumped into the sea, and swam to safety, finding help at a nearby dock. Though she survived, Sabela’s injuries are severe, requiring urgent medical and dental care. Her story is a stark reminder of the many who endure gender-based violence. Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Chairwoman of the National Women’s Council, sheds light on the complex and often dangerous process of leaving an abusive relationship.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Chair, National Women’s Commission
“A victim of domestic abuse or gender based violence will try to leave a bad situation an average of eight to nine times before they’re finally successful. The problem with it is that violence keeps escalating. So you will notice that where it started out as a push or a slap, after a few times it turns into punches, it turns into more serious injuries. And every time you go through it, it gets worse and worse. And that’s the problem that we have in the sense that then sometimes you don’t make it out alive because you get caught up in the violence.”
Garcia-Ramirez points out that abusers often try to isolate their victims, cutting them off from friends and family. That’s why it’s so important for victims to keep a strong support network around them as they navigate their way out of these harmful situations.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
“As a friend and family of a survivor, your job is not to ensure that the person goes to court and somebody goes to jail. It should, the foremost thing in your mind should be The stability and the integrity of the person who has undergone such a traumatic event and that they are well and that they get the help, the psychosocial help that they need. We’re not there to make sure that certain things happen because that’s what we want to see. We’re there to support. We’re there to help. Ensure that the person has as many of the options as possible and support them with the decisions whether or not they align with ours.”
Sabela Brakeman is asking for your help to deal with her medical needs so she can get her life back on track.
On the Phone: Sabela Brakeman
“I have trouble for eating still since all my teeth are shaking. I have received some support from people from the key for some bedroom that are there supporting me and some people that watch the news. I’m just here taking medication that I get from the hospital in KHMH. I haven’t started any treatment. My sister is the one that has been cleaning my injuries. My nose is broken. My top gum is broken. All my teeth are shaking. They’re very soft.”
Marion Ali
“So you also need dental work?”
Sabela Brakeman
“Yes.”
Thea Garcia-Ramirez shares some crucial signs to watch out for to help prevent situations like Sabela’s. She emphasizes that anyone feeling unsafe should seek help immediately, reassuring that support is available for those in need.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
“At all the human services departments in each and every municipality, and in the cities, there’s one. You can seek out help through a different civil society organizations in different areas of the country. There’s, for example, POA in the south that does a lot of these things. In the north, there are some as well. You can ask for help through the police department through health services, and at your local Health facilities, government health facilities, they are required by law to call in a social worker when they suspect that something is wrong.”
Sabela Brakeman can be reached at 665 5083 if you want to help. Marion Ali for News Five.
Tonight, Vincent Scott, the Chairman of Santa Cruz Village, is in hot water with the law. His ex-common-law wife, Dalia Cabral, claims that he pulled a gun on her Monday night inside her home. She says they had an argument earlier in the day about a man who was at her house when Scott visited. Later that evening, Scott allegedly came back, pointed a gun at her, and tried to shoot, but the firearm jammed. News Five briefly spoke with Scott over the phone this morning after talking to Cabral. He told us he was heading to the police station. We tried to reach him again this afternoon but couldn’t get a hold of him. Here’s what Cabral shared with us over the phone.
On the Phone: Dalia Cabral, Santa Cruz Resident
“To be honest, I had a friend of mine fixing a radio and I thought it was not a problem, because I am not going to bring anyone in this house. I respect this house, because it is my kid’s house. He came and saw the guy inside. Mr. Scott looked for a machete and said, “I hear somebody the inside. I said, nobody the yah. The person jumps out the window and Mr. Scott goes downstairs like he then gets a gun and started chase ah round the village. I told him that is unnecessary, you moved on. Maybe dah mih the wrong fih take somebody at the house, but we weren’t doing anything. And I still could do anything because you gave the house to me and the kids. I didn’t see any problem with it. I didn’t see any problem with it. I went to do a report in Santa Cruz the same day and police say they have the guy to was breaking the house, because Mr. Scott said it is burglarized. How can it be burglarized when I let him inside. Mr. Scott comes after eight with the gun. The door was locked. He had a broken window. He entered with the gun, and it jammed. I had a break to run and jump off the verandah. Right now, my ankle is sprained. I don’t have anything to eat and nothing. I told him go hide, because if Scott would have found him there it would have been a big trouble. I was avoiding it. Everybody thinks it is my fault. I almost caused this guy’s death, but I was not doing anything with the guy.”
Paul Lopez
“Have you filed a police report against him?”
On the Phone: Dalia Cabral,
“Yes I did, but it was transferred to Mango Creek. I was suppose to reach there for eight, but I am unable to reach.”
