Gender Affairs condemns violence after stabbing of young man

The Directorate of Gender Affairs is urging anyone who is subjected to unwanted advances in a public space, to find a way to temper the situation without violence.
The comment comes after a young man was stabbed in the back this week by a young woman he was reportedly harassing, and she did not appreciated his advances.
Communications Officer of Gender Affairs, Raisa Charles told OBSERVER media the department does not condone anyone being harassed, but violence is not the correct approach.
“We never consider violence to be the answer to any sort of negative interaction that is taking place. We would always want to de-escalate a situation and we never want it to get to a point where anyone is physically harmed or injured. But, we also want to have a conversation about harmful behaviours that create  breeding ground for some things to manifest as violence,” Charles said.
An eyewitness said the young man was rushed to the Mount St John’s Medical Centre “bleeding profusely” from the injury that did not appear life threatening, while his attacker fled.
Charles said the Directorate of Gender Affairs remains committed to advocating for and implementing legislative frameworks and providing quality education and services to the public.
“We have to move beyond saying that it exists, there is a problem, and why it is a problem, and seek to introduce alternative patterns of behaviours because acknowledging that these things happen is not enough, we need to make movements to make a change,” she said.
The directorate condemns the stabbing as an “unconscionable and inexcusable act.”
The services of the Directorate of Gender Affairs are available to all members of the public through its 24/7 crisis hotline at 463-5555.