00:00 Research has shown that one in three women are affected by violence,
00:04 and research has also shown that one in four men has also been affected by violence.
00:09 But also, we have cases of men who are coming in,
00:13 but the reason why men don't report it is because of stigma.
00:17 They are afraid of that stigma and how they are looked at.
00:20 Even to the fact that if they have to go to the station to report that type of violence,
00:23 they wonder how they are going to be treated.
00:26 But over the years, I would say this year I have seen cases of more men coming into the division for that support.
00:33 Mr. Phillips spoke during the Green Bench Talk initiative,
00:37 held in collaboration with CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago.
00:42 The project is in commemoration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,
00:48 which was observed on the 25th of November,
00:52 when benches were strategically installed at various locations across Tobago.
00:57 Mr. Phillips added there are seasonal spikes in cases of violence.
01:02 We may have sometimes four to five cases a week.
01:06 We may have less sometimes.
01:09 It all depends on the season because these types of violence happen in season.
01:13 So like you may have carnival, you might see a spike in violence.
01:16 We have Christmas coming, you also see a spike in violence.
01:20 You also, like for example, around school time,
01:23 when summer time when children have to get books and those things, there's a spike in violence.
01:27 And carnival, because of substance abuse and all these different things, you also see a spike in violence.
01:32 Coordinator from the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, Terri Ince, also spoke on the initiative.
01:40 The benches are made of plastic lumber.
01:44 We partnered with the Flying Tree Environmental Company to design the bench,
01:50 and then they created the bench which is made completely out of plastic lumber.
01:56 And if you can imagine, each bench requires at least 30,000 plastic bottles.
02:03 So if you think of all of those plastic bottles being removed from our landfills, from our drains, etc.,
02:09 you can see the positive impact this initiative has just on the environment.
02:15 Marrying that then with the societal,
02:19 addressing the societal scourge of gender-based violence during this time just brings it home.
02:26 Assistant Secretary in the Division of Health, Sonny Craig, said,
02:30 despite some pockets of negativity with respect to domestic violence, there is hope.
02:36 I felt a bit of sadness somewhere in the conversation,
02:40 to hear the names of women and girls being matched up against, along with recycled material.
02:49 And somehow they don't match.
02:51 But they are realities of our society and where we're going as a country, as a world.
02:57 And I think that regardless of what sadness I might seek to identify, there is hope.
03:03 The Green Bench initiative took place outside of the Scarborough Health Centre on Friday.
03:09 Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
03:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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