UNC Women’s Arm condemns PM statement
The UNC National Women’s Arm condemns the statement made by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley at last night’s “Conversations with the Prime Minister” where he callously remarked on the choices of partner made by domestic violence cases being the cause of their demise.
We want to take this opportunity to remind the Prime Minister that his utterances last night is tantamount to “victim shaming” and would like to educate the public on what this terminology means. “Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm that befell them. The study of victimology seeks to mitigate the perception of victims as responsible There is a greater tendency to blame victims than perpetrators”
As such we call on the Prime Minister Dr.Keith Rowley to issue an apology immediately since these women and their families having undergone tremendous psychological and physical trauma during their ordeals are now placed under similar trauma by this comment. We also would like to ask the Prime Minister was Nadia Simms, Rachel Ramkissoon and other women who were victims of heinous crimes,were they also murdered because of their “choices”?
We stand in solidarity with our Sisters and we call upon the Prime Minister to issue an apology to all the victims of domestic violence and their families!
Marisa V Ramlogan
Public Relations Officer
UNC National Women’s Arm