“Foot in mouth disease” is something that often afflicts politicians. Last month during the THA elections the Leader of the Tobago Forwards put her foot in her mouth when she suggested that Tobagonians put “Visine” in the water of Trinidadians who “come to Tobago to vote”. She was quite rightly roundly condemned for such a foolish utterance which she claimed was said in some jest. The implications of this supposed “bad joke” however were clear as impressionable minds could be influenced to take her seriously – if not in the context of the THA election then in other situations. Ms. Moore dutifully apologized.
Last night the Prime Minister put his foot in his mouth. In speaking of the horrendous number of murders – more than 60 for the year – Dr. Rowley stated that almost one third of the murders were related to domestic violence situations. He then went on to say that people are calling on the Prime Minister to do something “but I’m not in your bedroom or in your choice of men”. He then further stated that women must “take responsibility to determine who they associate with”. These comments are unacceptable.
In the first place, citizens know very well that the Prime Minister cannot physically stop a murder so his comment about “not being in their bedroom or in their choice of men” was totally uncalled for and sought to trivialize the tragic loss of life of many of our women. What citizens do know and expect, however, is that the Prime Minister and his government implement policies and ensure that action is taken to reduce violent crime in the country. This is not happening and citizens are rightly holding the Prime Minister to account.
Secondly, speaking of women’s responsibility to determine who they associate with as a means of preventing violence against them is a patently wrong approach to the issue of domestic violence and violence against women. The Prime Minister ought to have called on men to reject violence against women and find other means of resolving conflict in relationships. Furthermore, the support for women by the state cannot only be, as Dr. Rowley asserted, at the moment when a woman has gotten out of an abusive relationship, but also to assist women to get out.
The Prime Minister sent all the wrong signals last night. Dr. Rowley did not hesitate to criticize Ms. Christlyn Moore for her statement in the THA election. She apologized. The former Mayor of Port of Spain was criticized for a foolish statement made a year ago following the tragic death of a Japanese visitor to Trinidad in which he implied that the young woman’s death could have been of her own making because of what she may have worn. The Prime Minister must be held to the same standard. Dr. Rowley must apologize for his comments which trivialized violence against women and sought to place responsibility on the victims for their plight rather than address the perpetrators of such violence.
