The institutionalisation of violence against women in Grenada was again evident, when a member of the upper house of parliament, a senator, a religious leader, in the open eyes of the public, exerted a show of force against a female journalist, and also against his colleague female minister, an elected member of parliament.
According to a recount of the incident from the journalist involved, Calistra Farrier, it was immediately following the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing on Tuesday 10 September, and she was seeking to get an answer to a question from the Member of Parliament for St Mark, Hon Clarice Modeste-Curwen.
She had previously indicated to Dr Modeste-Curwen that she would be seeking an answer to the question about availability of resources to the police in St Mark, following their slow response to a chopping incident.
The MP had agreed to answer, and in fact said, as captured in a recording, that she had no problem responding to the question.
However, Senator Winston Garraway, in a macho move and a show of force, inserted himself between the two to prevent the MP from responding, blocked Ms Farrier’s access to the MP, and in the process Ms Farrier fell to the floor. If that was not enough, the Senator proceeded to scream at Ms Farrier while she was on the ground, words to the effect that she is a liar and the devil and he is rebuking that evil spirit in her!
A photo of the incident shows the Press Secretary Ms Philomena Robertson and Mrs Modeste-Curwen in full view of what was happening, but neither seemed concerned for the well-being of the female journalist who was on the floor. Their reaction is testimony to the fact that abuse against women is endorsed, and especially when it comes from males who occupy positions of leadership and authority in the country.
It is amazing that a country like Grenada which boasts of numbers when it comes to women in the parliament, cannot also boast of equality. Clearly in this incident the unelected Senator, because he is male, can instruct and direct the elected member, because she is female.
Her decision to answer the question posed by Ms Farrier, is upended by her male counterpart, and she accepts this without murmur or complaint and without asserting her position as an elected MP who is answerable to her constituents.
A few weeks ago, Ms Robertson lectured the press on professionalism and respect, but she seemed to have no problem with Sen. Garraway assaulting one of its members.
I will only mention that the President of the Media Workers Association of Grenada, Shere-Ann Noel, was present because she is also a woman in a position of leadership and authority, not for the organisation she represents.
To say I was shocked and appalled at the behaviour of the Senator would be an understatement, but to have his action endorsed by the female MPs who were there and the Press Secretary, was salt and black pepper in an open wound. Yes, female MPs, because the representative for Carriacou and Petit Martinique Mrs Kindra Maturine-Stewart was also there.
The President of the Senate, Chester Humphrey, is known for his stance against objectifying women in carnival revellery, I am waiting on the crickets to stop chirping to hear his voice on males in authority objectifying women as things to abuse. Are the women in Grenada’s parliament just decorative objects with no authority, whose voices are not heard or respected by their male counterparts?
The other grave issue is freedom of the press. Section 10 of the Grenada Constitution provides that “…no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence.”
Was Ms Farrier’s constitutionally given right breached by Sen. Garraway?
There was also an attempt to breach her right by the Press Secretary Ms Robertson, who tried to prevent the US Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean Linda Swartz Taglialatela, from responding to a question at another post-Cabinet news conference.
Clearly the danger is on two fronts: (1) violence against women and (2) freedom of the press. A broken press means a broken democracy.
When lawmakers perpetuate and endorse violence against the media and against women, then all the international conventions signed are nothing but sham, and the platform speeches are empty rhetoric. This is a crisis, and if left to spiral, it is not just women and the media that are going down.
Beverley Sinclair