The Office of the Special Envoy for the Development of Families condemns the horrendous murder of Kendra Middleton and her 3-year-old son Aiden Middleton. The Office join in solidarity with Mrs. Middleton’s family, with the Ministry of Human Development, Families & Indigenous People’s Affairs, and with all Belizeans who say “no” to violence and all forms of discrimination against our women and children. Violence against women and children is violence against every Belizean and it has no place in Belize! While we recognize the considerable progress Belize has made with regard to legislation and actions to combat violence against women and children, it is nonetheless alarming that recent data shows that violence against our women and children are still pervasive and in fact is increasing, particularly with the onset of the pandemic.
As a society, we are still far achieving our goal of gender equality in Belize. The Office of the Special Envoy for the Development of Children and Families stands committed to working tirelessly with our partners and will use the power and resources of the Office to strengthen our legal frameworks and institutions for the effective persecution and punishment, and where possible the rehabilitation, of the perpetrators, to improve services for survivors, and to promote women and family empowerment so as to ensure every Belizean woman can live freely and safely, equal in value and equal in rights, within their home, their community, and their country.
More importantly, as your Special Envoy for Families and Children, I call on every Belizean to help prevent, openly reject and condemn all acts of violence against our women and children and to support and protect the victims, especially in the healing and rehabilitation process. This requires a firm commitment not only at institutional level. It requires a broad involvement of our NGOs, of our civil society at large, the private sector and at every level of our society. But most of all, it requires the firm commitment of all our men! Each Belizean, especially our men, can help to challenge gender stereotypes, harmful traditional and cultural practices, and discrimination.
For more information on Gender-Based violence, please contact the National Women’s Commission at 227-4284. And as a reminder, the Belize Police Department should be the first contact for help relating to acts of violence against our women and children. Hotline 0-800-A-WAY-OUT and the mobile number 672-9628 continue to be available to request urgent assistance from the Belize Police Department. 911 is also another hotline that can be used to request urgent help.
Also, our Women and Family Support Offices countrywide is also available to assist women and their families with immediate support and protection. The numbers to call are Belize – 227-7397/3888, San Pedro – 206-4625, Cayo – 804-2098, Orange Walk – 302-2058, Belmopan – 822-2161, Stann Creek – 502-0038, and Punta Gorda – 702-2021.
Together, we can create a society free from all forms of violence against our women and children!
