Government is moving to construct four new safe houses for domestic violence victims and women will be allowed to keep their children with them, according to Permanent Secretary Jacqueline Johnson, Office of the Prime Minister and Gender Affairs.
She was speaking at a Joint Select Committee meeting held in Parliament yesterday.
Johnson said the new facilities would be constructed by next year—three of which would accommodate women and their children and one for men. In all, some 52 people are expected to be accommodated.
Vidya Pooransingh, director of the National Family Services said access to safe houses was a problem as there was a growing needed for such facilities.
Data from the Police Service has indicated that there have been 11,441 domestic violence reports between 2010 and 2015, 75 per cent of which were related to female victims. Also in the same period, there were 131 domestic violence deaths, 56 per cent of which were female.
Arts and Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly since 2015 the available statistics does not show a reduction in domestic violence.
This in itself, however, posed a problem as there were only eight shelters which were run by private organisations.
And in some instances, some of the facilities were unable to accommodate women with their children, especially teenaged sons.