The National Organization of Women (NOW) says it has formally requested “simultaneous and immediate” police investigations into the death of one woman and threats allegedly made against another.
One of the women is 45-year-old Linda Tull, whose body was discovered in her car in Oistins, Christ Church, late Friday night, soon after her daughter went to seek police help because they had been accosted by a man.
The other was Shonette Williams, who told the DAILY NATION she feared for her life and believed that police were not treating her case with the urgency it deserved.
The 32-year-old mother of three has accused a former partner of making death threats, physically assaulting her and deliberating setting fire to her home.
“Women of this country must be protected,” NOW said in a statement bearing the name of president Marilyn Rice-Bowen.
“If not the Royal Barbados Police Force, who else can they turn to?”
Where shortcomings were unearthed regarding law enforcement investigations and the response, these should be met with the appropriate disciplinary response, NOW said.
The group added: “Whereas we value the partnership between the Royal Barbados Police Force and the National Organization of Women, we will not allow this partnership to cloud our vision, nor muzzle us as it relates to women’s safety and protection.
“We take this opportunity to remind the women and their families that we will continue to be vigilant and ensure that justice is done,” it added, as it extended sympathies to the family of Tull. (TY)
