The court refers abusive men to the Partnership for Peace programme to help them acknowledge what they have done and show them different non-violent ways to deal with anger. Photo: authorsden.com

On July 25, 2012, while listening to the outcome of a couple who went through courses in the programme, Magistrate Richards agreed that it is indeed a successful programme and one which reaped rewards.

To prove the success of the programme, results provided by the Ministry of Health’s Office of Gender Affairs, in an annual report that covers January- December of 2011, state that from since the birth of the programme in October of 2009, twenty-five males have successfully completed the 16-week course.

The Report, which was laid in the House of Assembly on July 24, 2012, indicated that a total of six men were enrolled in the fourth cycle, which began on September 7, 2011 and concluded on December 21, 2011. All six men completed the programme.

In an excerpt taken from the report, it was noted that “the 16 week psycho-educational program is for men who are abusive towards their women.”

In light of this, the programme serves as a rehabilitation centre used by the Court to refer men who commit the said crime and need help in understanding and managing feelings, effective communication, conflict resolution, manhood, womanhood, domestic violence and the law, and relapse prevention and personal development; which are all topics covered while in attendance of the program.

PFP in the Virgin Islands (VI) was created to help stop violence in the VI between spouses, help persons accept responsibility for their behavior, create alternative methods other than physically hurting someone as well as to promote self-sufficiency among participants, in taking steps towards improving their relationship and their lives by creating a supporting atmosphere.

The Partnership for Peace programme is a violence prevention programme for men that was created by the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Office of Gender Affairs in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN).