Crime, the #1 issue for women

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Trinidad – Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.
As part of a special focus on the event, the T&T Guardian yesterday asked a sample of women across the country to state their biggest concern at this point in time.
Overwhelmingly, most participants said crime, violence and security were their main concerns, with the fear that the security forces were unable to curb the rising trend in crimes against women and domestic-related incidents.
Following are their responses:
Port-of-Spain
Lisa Guichard
Slam Brand Manager
Safety for myself and my family. Crime is also one of my biggest concerns.
Aleah Lawrence,
lawyer
Crime and violence, especially violence against women and personal safety of women and children.
Shirlana Ramdath,
secretary
Some women do not have enough strength to stand up for themselves. They must not depend on a man for this. They must have the courage to fight for themselves.
Hazel Whiteman,
sales representative
Violence against women and especially safety for women and children.
Carlene Gayle,
unemployed
There is too much violence against women and children. The crime situation is also very worrying.
San Fernando
Maureen Ragbir,
secretary,
Barrackpore
I would have to say the level of violence against women and I think more measures should be put in place to help women in vulnerable situations.
Geeta Deopersad,
Stay-at-home-mom,
Barrackpore
The disappearances and kidnappings of young women, I have a young daughter and I worry about going out in public and someone snatching her away because you don’t even know when you are being targeted.
Marva Quash,
retiree,
Fyzabad
Crime and the way women are treated and discriminated against in this society. I don’t feel safe anymore and I am much more cautious about going out.
Chantale’ Fletcher,
student,
San Fernando
My safety, as a student, it’s especially frightening walking the streets by yourself. You have to be wary of every taxi you get in and try to take pictures of the car or the driver just to have peace of mind when traveling.
Radha Harry,
cook,
Claxton Bay
My safety when out and about, I am always fearful I will end up in the wrong taxi.
Chaguanas
Acklima Mohammed,
Cunupia
My biggest concern is safety. Crime is rising everywhere in T&T and more and more women are becoming easy victims by criminals. Women are no longer safe to even venture alone to the malls without a male companion. There is always some criminal stalking women alone to rob them, kidnap them or even kill them.
Nicole Mohammed,
Chaguanas
Crime and the economy worries me the most. If the economy continues to spiral downwards then more people would be jobless and some may turn to crime. Women are easy prey for criminals. We have to face reality, men are physically stronger and more aggressive and this gives the male criminal an advantage to make women victims.
Pear Ahyew,
Chaguanas
I am concerned about the level of criminal activity, conmen, and scam artistes in T&T. Through social media many women have become victims of con-artistes who view women as easy prey. What we need is to educate women to instill critical thinking as well as defense skills.
Sunita Ragoonanan,
Bejucal
Crime is my biggest concern. As unemployment rises more people are out of a job and there are a great number of illegal aliens in T&T from the small islands, Venezuela and Jamaica committing crimes and the authorities are not doing anything to crack down on the amount of illegal aliens in T&T. They are just making things worse.
Vandana Mohit,
Cunupia
I am concerned about safety. Women are afraid to go out alone, its a mental struggle for some women daily to hit the road to go to work and have to worry about being criminally assaulted or robbed. Criminals are getting more violent daily, they stab, they kill. They just don’t assault alone again. There is also a growing number of sexual predators, men and women, who are now preying on young girls.
Tobago
Merliss George-Webster,
clerical assistant,
Black Rock
My biggest concern is how women dress on the streets, especially with the issues of kidnapping and rape. I think we can dress more decent. Growing up I was taught when you walk the streets, what you wear, it will depict who you are.
Karon Ruiz,
District co-ordinator
Blenheim
Although women are moving up in the political sphere, I still want to see us being more dynamic and be more in the forefront. Most of the time, women suffer from low self confidence, because when we put out an idea it is shut down and I need to see more women involved in business.
Moreen Bobb Guy,
Programme officer Cepep
Plymouth
Some of the issues that trouble me are the crime situation. Parents have given up their responsibility as being parents and wanting to become friends of their children and because of the friendship the borders are crossed or blurred and we need to return to traditional values. Secondly, equity in the workforce. I believe that while we have progressed, I think that we need to have a straight line, because there should be no male or gender biases.
Cherise Trotman-O’Neil,
Programme officer,
Argyle
Violence against women is my biggest concern in this country. As a mother, I am more fearful for my child’s safety, more than I am for my safety, because as a young lady coming up, I am seeing some behaviours that are being exhibited and some negative practices against women in this country and it is definitely grounds for concern.
Verna Joseph,
Human resource assistant,
Mt St George
One of my major concern is the abuse of women in the society by the men. Women should also be treated with respect in their career because they are looking for advancement and they should be supported by the men.

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