CATEGORY:CRIMINAL MATTERS
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By Team Grenada
Sunday December 17,2007


ST.JOHN (Inside Grenada) - According to unconfirmed reports reaching Grenadianconnection, a young lady from Florida, in the parish of St. John, who has been missing for some days now, was found this morning and has been admitted to the General Hospital.

The young lady, whose name has not been given, is alleged to have suffered severe chop wounds to her body. It is also alleged that her boyfriend might have been the one responsible for inflicting the chop wounds. He is still on the loose but it is believed that local policemen are looking for him to assist them in their investigation of the incident.

Only recently, two days were set aside in Grenada to draw attention to the issue of abuse against women. There was a march through the streets of St.George as well as a massive rally in St.Patrick’s to deal with this social ill. Many Grenadians – men, women and children – attended the two-day function, which included speeches from Hon. Yolande Bain-Horsford, the Minister for Social Services, among other high ranking officials from Government Departments and local NGOs.

Over the years, some men in Grenada (as well as the rest of the region) have been guilty of mistreating and abusing their women. In many instances, women fail to report cases of abuse because of fear of the abuser or because of a lack of independence. In some cases, the abuse has resulted in the death of women.

Sometime last week, on the neighboring island of St.Vincent, a young man publicly beheaded a young lady who (it is alleged) was rejecting his advances. Some leaders of community groups and organizations in the region have been calling on the relevant agencies to adopt a more pro-active and zero-tolerance approach in dealing with the issue of violence against women. It is the view of some people that many of the songs that are sung by regional artists (and become popular among our young people) tend to disparage the value of women. This, it is believed, has contributed significantly towards the social cancer that has wrecked the lives of so many Caribbean women.

One can recall that some years ago, a local calypsonian came under fire when he traveled overseas to perform a song “Ah Lash ah Wood For She.” This song was very popular in the country before it was criticized at that foreign function. This goes to indicate that our ‘moral overseers’ oftentimes fall asleep at the wheel. One can also recall the Minister of Education, Hon. Clarice Charles, issuing an unequivocal condemnation of the so called “passa passa” that was sweeping through the region like a wild fire and severely undermining the social/sexual value of young women. Since then, other countries in the region have taken steps to exorcise this ‘social demon.’

Grenadianconnection joins with all Government and Non-Governmental Agencies in condemning (in the strongest possible terms) any act of violence against women (or men, in rare instances). We are no longer living in the ‘Dark Ages’ and the rights of all citizens, whether it be men or women, must be observed and honored by all persons.