Bureau to Help Disabled Women

Newly appointed Executive Director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, Faith Webster, has said that under her leadership, the Bureau would be committed to helping disabled women, and establishing shelters across the country for battered women.
“A priority area will be working with women, particularly within the disabled community; women who are physically challenged, because what we recognise is that in the past, we have been working with women, but sometimes women in these areas tend to be overlooked,” the Executive Director told JIS News in an interview.
“Because of the challenges that they face, sometimes they will be more vulnerable. So, we want to look in terms of public education at various areas of their lives, such as their sexual and reproductive health as well as helping them to understand what their rights are under the law,” she added.
Mrs. Webster is also keen on establishing shelters to help to protect and rehabilitate women, who have been victims of domestic violence and abuse.
“Another area of main focus will be to establish shelters across the island for battered women, because we know that this is a serious area for women in terms of domestic violence and abuse against them,” the Executive Director noted.
“What has actually happened is that we have been working to educate women and sensitise them on the issue of domestic violence, as well as working with victims and trying to help them to understand why they should get out of abusive relationships. But there has always been a particular need in the area of shelter,” she pointed out.
The need for shelters for battered and abused women is a pressing one, as currently, there is only the Women’s Crisis Centre and a shelter operated by Woman Inc. that can only house eight women at any one time. Given this situation, the Bureau is actively scouting areas where they can develop these shelters.
“We recognise that what is currently in place is not adequate and so we have put a shelter strategy in place and have a committee that is presently, as a matter of priority, looking at areas where we can establish shelters for our women,” the Executive Director informed.
The mission of the Bureau, which operates out of the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, is: “To enable women to achieve their full potential as participants in Jamaica’s social, cultural and economic development and with equitable access to benefits from the country’s resources.”