Non-nationals who are victims of domestic abuse in Barbados are being told not to put up with it because they are protected by the laws of the land.
This was the message from president of the National Organisation of Women, Marilyn Rice-Bowen, as she spoke to people attending a candlelight vigil in front the house where Brenda Belle, of St Barnabas, St Michael, was slashed to death while in Cutting Road, Haggatt Hall, in the same parish.
Belle died on April 30. Her husband, Allan Alston Belle, a 58-year-old landscaper, of St Barnabas Heights, St Michael, has been charged with the killing.
Rice-Bowen said there were immigrant women in Barbados who remained victims of domestic violence “because you would be told that the police don’t want to hear from you because you are not straight [legal].
“But once you are a resident in Barbados, regardless of your status, you are protected under the laws of this country,” she pointed out.
“Seek help. Walk to the police station. Call the Business and Professional Women’s Club’s number. Do not stay and suffer in silence,” she urged.
