Lashley: Protect victims, family

A Government Minister believes that a fund should be established to offer financial assistance to victims of domestic violence and their family members.
Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley said he believed the state should establish a fund under the Domestic Violence Act to compensate victims and their dependents, particularly in fatal cases.
He was speaking yesterday at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Ruby, St Philip, where the Barbados Transport Board marked its 58th anniversary with a service.
“We concentrate only on the perpetrators of the act but we also have to concentrate on the victims,” said Lashley, who is also acting as Attorney General.
“I believe that sometime in the future we might have to establish a specific compensation fund under the Domestic Violence Act to show that we are treating these matters in a very serious way.
“A lady or man might have children to support. They might have five or six or four children to support and the state will have to step in to ensure that those [children] are protected,” he said. (AH)