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The following is a reprint from 'The Crusader' newspaper
dated 24th July 1999.
"The Crisis Centre which has been a source of refuge to thousands of victms of domestic abuse may soon end up closing its doors to the public due to lack of funds.
Ever since its inception in 1987, trying to secure funding for its operations has been an uphill struggle for the Centre. Apart from a yearly government subvention of $3,000 (nearly half of which goes towards the rent of its Brazil Street office) and a small yearly contribution from Barclays Bank Plc. the Centre has been dependent on private contributions as well as financial and technical assistance from a number of foreign donors.
In fact for the past few years the wages of its 5 full-time staff (now reduced to 4) have been financed by the donor agency CARITAS of Germany. Two weeks ago, CARITAS informed the Centre that they were experiencing financial difficulties themselves and as a result would no longer be able to assist the Centre. In a desperate bid to try and meet the financial short fall and save the Centre from closing down, the staff and general membership of the Centre have been busy trying to put together a fund-raising strategy to raise the sorely needed cash.
The closure of the Crisis Centre would indeed be a national shame. It was thanks in large measure to a resolution presented some years ago by the Crisis Centre to the Attorney General for closed court hearings of cases of rape and other sexual offences that the measure was adopted by the Cabinet. The Centre, along with the Department of Women's Affairs, was also instrumental in the eventual passage of the Domestic Violence Act and the Family Court Act with its attachment of earnings on salaries of defaulters of child maintenance payments.
In addition, over the past 12 years the Crisis Centre has provided counselling and other assistance to over 6000 victims of domestic abuse, including sufferers of rape, incest and sexually abused children. In recent months there has been a general consensus among local and regional social workers that domestic abuse and violence is on the increase in St. Lucia as well as in the rest of the Caribbean.
The Crisis Centre, if allowed to shut down, would no doubt set St. Lucia light years back in the unending fight against domestic abuse".
(From: Crusader 24th July 1999) |
