Gender secretariat deplores violence against women |14 December 2013

• Condemns horrendous act in death of Rita Alphonse

The Department of Social Affairs has strongly condemned “the horrendous act of violence” that resulted in the death of 42-year-old Rita Alphonse of Anse Boileau, describing it as “a gross human rights violation” that is “unacceptable in a society where all individuals are well versed in living together peacefully and in unity”.

The Gender secretariat which falls under the Department of Social Affairs says it is “unfortunate that the untimely death of Mrs Alphonse happened during the 16 days campaign of activism to end violence against women”.

Mrs Alphonse, according to the police report, was reported missing from her home on the night of Tuesday December 3. Her body was found floating in a marsh at Petit Barbarons four days later.

 Her husband, a 47-year-old man is being held in police custody as the main suspect in Mrs Alphonse’s death. The results of the postmortem performed on Mrs Alphonse's body, released by the police this week, reveal that she died from multiple injuries to the head and the body, including stab wounds, skull and cervical spine fracture. The police have described her death as “gruesome”.

“The country has been shocked by this barbaric act and sympathises with the family for their loss. We should continue to pride ourselves in peaceful living, for our own well-being, that of our brothers and sisters, wives and husbands, and children, and to maintain the safety, peace and social cohesion that our visitors marvel at. There is no justification for such action and the police have to continue with their investigation to get the perpetrator of the crime held accountable for his actions,” the statement from the social affairs department reads.

It should be noted that the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence awareness campaign is a means to raise people’s consciousness on the necessity to respect the dignity of a person. The campaign this year was launched on November 25 and ran until December 10.

 “Violence in whatever form is a gross violation of human rights. It is a concern and will always be a concern for us as a nation. This was echoed in the local theme ‘From Peace in the home to peace in the community’ as we started the 16 days awareness campaign,” the statement says.

The Gender secretariat points out that over the last few years it has worked tirelessly to educate the nation on the effects of violence and how it can destroy individuals and families in its wake.

The Department of Social Affairs is alarmed at the increasing brutality and growing frequency of such attacks/violence emerging over the past months and aims to intensify its strategies in order to further assist, protect, and even seek justice for victims. This is why increased efforts are in the works to strengthen laws that condemn and punish acts of violence. The proposed Domestic Violence Bill to be enacted in 2014 is one very important legal instrument that will ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence are dealt with to ensure the safety of our women and children.