Equipment Handover from the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to The Barbados Police Service Family Conflict Unit

Bridgetown, Barbados: The EU-UN Spotlight Initiative is supporting TheBarbados Police Service (TBPS) Family Conflict Unit with its data capture and management of gender-based violence cases.  Officials from the EU and UN Women presented computer equipment to the specialised unit of the BPS to process, store, and analyse data on gender-based violence.

Acting Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce highlighted the work the Family Conflict Unit has done to respond to domestic violence. He said the TBPS was very proud of the achievements, particularly in response to family conflict, as a result of their specific policing approach.  The Commissioner was joined by members of the Barbados Police Service senior command team including Inspector (Ag.) Christine Husbands who leads the BPS Family Conflict Unit.

Representative - UN Women MCO Caribbean Tonni Brodber remarked: “To have so many Assistant Commissioners of Police, the Deputy Commissioner Police, present with the Acting Commissioner of Police demonstrates a real political will and prioritisation of this  issue, which sometimes people think is siloed from the issues of crime. But more and more, the research is showing children who growup in homes where they witness their mothers being battered by their fathers;men who batter their partners are generally, boys who grew up in homes where they saw this happen and they are also more likely to get into violent interactions with other men.”

Ms. Tonni Brodber, Representative – UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean, Florian Luetticken -EU Team Leader for Human Development, Governance and Security. UN Women Photo/Lisle Warner

Recognising the much needed EU-UN partnership through the Spotlight Initiative, the UN Women Representative said police officers from forces across the region had participated with statisticians and other key GBV responders in sessions on the minimum standards for ethically collecting administrative data on GBV, and data that is also sex disaggregated.

European Union (EU) team leader for Human Development, Governance and Security Florian Luetticken, said having also seen differences in policing processes in another Caribbean state, he was very happy that the EU-UN partnership through the Spotlight Initiative was able to contribute to these positive changes.

“Sometimes there are questions of what has security to do with human development and even development with a government. But I think this is a very good example… all the different UN agencies and the European Union try to tackle gender-based violence at every level; so, families,  schools, the work environment.

Noting that while the Spotlight Initiative was coming to an end, he said the EU will not leave, but remains committed to working with the different actors who are addressing security.

Back row: Mr. Jefferson Clarke - Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Human Resources, Lisa Legall Belgrave - Regional Spotlight Initiative – Communications Officer at UN Women, Janine Blanchard EU Gender Focal Point and Spotlight Co-ordinator, Assistant Commissioner of Police - Mr. David Griffith in charge of Crime, Inspector Christine Husbands - family unit coordinator, Barbados Police Service, Mr. Antonio Forte - Assistant Commissioner  in charge of Change management. Seated: Florian Luetticken -EU Team Leader for Human Development, Governance and Security,  Ms. Tonni Brodber, Representative – UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean, Mr. Erwin Boyce - COMMISSIONER OF Police (ag.), Mr. Ian Branch  - Deputy Commissioner of Police. UN Women Photo/Lisle Warner

Inspector (ag.) Christine Husbands, Coordinator of the BPS Family Conflict Unit said the Unit, established in 2013 remains committed to ensuring that girls and women are in a position to say they have had a better response from the Barbados Police Force. 

“We have had the problem that victims are still not willing to prosecute. But today we assure that if they are not willing to prosecute there is still another means of getting them the support that they need.

The presentation [of the equipment] will surely help us (sic) with being able to analyse those numbers. Now we have that opportunity to analyse so we know which road to go, because we face intimate partner violence, child abuse, and all the other forms of abuse. Today I can only say we really do appreciate this, and we will continue to work with UN Women and the EU in order to end domestic violence. You know that we really want to bring these numbers down, and we will surely not be minimizing our effort in terms of the response of the Barbados Police Service.”

With the aim of ending all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030, the European Union and the United Nations have been collaborating since 2017 to empower, promote, and protect the rights of women and girls worldwide. The Spotlight Initiative is a EUR 500 million programme that deployed targeted, large-scale investments in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific.