Samoa cop criticised over domestic violence message

Transcript

A domestic violence activist in Samoa says a police officer telling women to think carefully before they waste paper making a statement shows the need for a change in attitude and mindset within the police force.

Tuiloma Sina Retzlaff says the police inspector made the comments while presenting at the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development's launch of '16 Days of Activism'.

It was on White Ribbon Day, just hours after the Police Commissioner, Egon Keil, had led a march against violence in Apia.

Ms Retzlaff says the policeman also suggested that everything can be solved in the matrimonial bed, and that there are levels of incidents not worth reporting.

TUILOMA SINA RETZLAFF: When he drove home his point, by referring to wasting paper on making a statement, only to have you come back the next morning and drop the charges, or ask us to drop the charges, it really drives home the fact that first respondents, people that victims are coming to, or survivors are coming to don't fully understand the nature of intimate partner violence.

LEILANI MOMOISEA: And do you think this raises a red flag about police culture as you mentioned, and perhaps the need for greater education, when you talk about not understanding intimate partner violence?

TSR: I would really hope that as a sensitive issue in society that the media would push this issue forward as a mind-set change that needs to be addressed. A deeply rooted mindset that we can't blame those who have such beliefs because they are beliefs that have been there for perhaps two or three generations. But the feeling that I have was, we do need to have capacity building, we do need to address these underlying beliefs by, especially police, but not only police officers. Health care workers, or whoever women, or victims, are going to as first respondents. That these first respondents understand that victims coming forward are very vulnerable at this time of coming forward. What also needs to be understood is when victims come forward, they are not actually coming forward at the first incident. They are coming forward when basically they have had enough. They're coming forward when they have been pushed to a boundary that they can no longer handle. So coming forward takes courage, and coming forward is not a pleasant experience for victims and when the police ministry is calling for breaking the silence, they're essentially telling our community to step forward and let them help. To step forward and let the family safety act be effective for them. To step forward and let the newly established family courts in Samoa be initiatives that can help them. So it was very surprising and absolutely contradictory to hear a message that basically warned women about coming forward.* So it was really the contradictory nature of the message that was highlighted. And I know that our Police Commissioner, because of the very obvious way that they are stepping forward to deal with issues, just that very morning he led a march down the streets of Apia to lead White Ribbon Day. So I know that he will react and respond to this issue. But I think it's important that public speakers are highlighted early, public speakers are reminded that these are sensitive issues, that when they have the privilege of speaking publicly about this issue that they do take time to be sensitive, they do take time to learn more about the issue, and they do take up the responsibility of sending the right message.

LM: You do expect the police commissioner to make some kind of response to this. What are you hoping he will do as a result of this?

TSR: There is actually in Australia, Victoria is a state that's well ahead in initiatives that are around domestic violence and family violence in approach and in legislation. There is a domestic violence accredited course that people actually take, and those are people working in this space. I would love to see anybody and everybody who says that they work in this space, whether they be police officers, healthcare workers, members of the judiciary, even teachers who are teaching young people about healthy relationships at schools, I would like to see a holistic approach to be taken, people that are first respondents to victims, first respondents to survivors, first respondents to incidents of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, to grasp a better understanding of what exactly intimate partner violence is. What it is not is a one-off event, or a one-off incident of momentary lapses of reason, or a one-off incident of being angry about something. It is sustained controlling behaviour by one partner in an intimate partner relationship on the other. And it includes in a package, the mental, physical, psychological, financial abuse. What I would really like to see is that our police officers really do learn more about the issue, and move away from stigmas that exist.