Violent crimes against women are finally being treated as no different than any other serious crimes said a leading women?s rights activist.

Murder victim Chena Trott had taken out a protection order against George (Messy) Liburd in the days leading up to her death, but he broke the order ? a move those who work to protect women are constantly trying to prevent.

Penny Dill, Executive Director of the Women?s Resource Centre, said she was pleased the community had come to take seriously crimes which were the result of domestic violence.

But she said there is still much work to be done by the Police, the Government, and the community to protect those who suffer from physical abuse every day.

?This is no different than any other crime, we are pleased with this verdict that the decision has been made by the community to treat it appropriately. Today was a milestone, but it is unfortunate that someone had to lose their life for people to understand that domestic violence is a very serious crime.?

Since 1987 the Police say there has been a total of 54 murders, 21 out of which have involved women murdered at the hands of men. Nineteen out of these cases were linked to domestic violence.

Mrs. Dill said in Bermuda the statistics for harassment have gone up since 2002 while abuse has gone down slightly since 2003.

While it is well-documented that it is difficult for women to leave violent relationships, eventually many find the inner strength to do what they can to walk away or obtain a restraining order, or a protection order as it is called in Bermuda.

This is demonstrated, said Mrs. Dill, by recent protection orders which have been filed since Liburd went to trial.

Over the last few months as many as eight protection orders have been issued through the courts each month, said Mrs. Dill.

?The cost to the taxpayer and the fact that he (Liburd) was able to change his attorney three times through legal aid is shocking,? said Mrs. Dill. ?This has come out of the budget.

?We have to have a limit, we should set down a limit for these type of cases and say you have two chances, and after that it is too bad. This case has shown how these people will manipulate the system to their advantage.?

Mrs. Dill said the Police also need more support, and they also need to have the resources to work bring about changes in the system.

?We have to question our values in Bermuda, its shocking where we place our money, our Police station and our courts are in deplorable condition but we pump our money into other areas.

?What?s important, justice and ensuring our people are safe or pumping money into creating a wonderful place (Westgate Correctional Facility) in Dockyard??

She pointed out that a report made by the WRC to the Police Serious Crimes Unit has not been met with a response.

There is not a domestic violence unit in the Police Service while there are other speciality units which exist within the Police force.

?We lobbied for this change three years ago, there should be a task force on domestic violence, the Police started to look at it, but it needs a co-ordinated response, we can no longer take a lack of resources as an excuse.?

Resources for dealing with anger management are questionable said Mrs. Dill, pointing out that it should be mandatory for people who exhibit anger, jealousy and control issues to attend some sort of therapy as a requirement while they are in prison.

Protection orders are a deterrent in many cases, however, a $500 fine for breaking the order is less than some traffic offences but can be a matter of life and death for the woman who is seeking protection. But women are also responsible and should carefully follow all the terms of the order.

?In the majority of cases protection orders are a deterrent, however, we have had to advise women that when they get the protection order it is in force for a year, if they breach this order they can be in trouble and they can not go back to court and say they want it again, it?s a serious thing, it can not be taken lightly.?

If the person breaches the order he or she is arrested by Police. ?In cases where the offender has been previously incarcerated, we want to let clients know that they are at a high risk, the person has nothing to lose and they are more likely to break the order,? said Mrs. Dill.

Ms Dill said the WRC is working to lobby with legislators to change the current length of time for a protection order from one to two years automatically, and if it is breached the offending party should be immediately incarcerated.

Currently a temporary court protection order grants protection for 28 days while a notice for a hearing is required to enforce the 12 month protection order. Both parties are forbidden from having any contact in person, through the telephone, at their workplace, their home, or at any other public place. Despite the abuse inflicted on them, many women some are trapped in the fantasy that things will get better, that they should give their partner another chance ? a choice which could have deadly results.

?It?s that scenario where they think if the partner says I?m sorry, there is this ?another chance? scenario. What these people do is threaten, they put the blame on the person who is abused.

?Women in these relationships often have self-esteem issues therefore when someone says this, they feel is something wrong with them rather than the person who is inflicting the violence, the abusers control makes them feel worthless.?

In Bermuda it is easy to run into one another, and it is also especially difficult when children are involved in the relationship.

?It?s the smallness of the community, it can be very difficult to see them on the street, these people also can not be watched 24 hours a day,? said Mrs. Dill.

Despite the outrage surrounding the brutal murder of Ms Trott, Mrs. Dill said in certain elements of the community Liburd?s abuse of women will be revered. ?We have men who will say to their women, I?m going to do to you what Liburd did, it?s a threat against women to overpower them. He will become their hero,? she said.

So why do women date men who are violent criminals? Social theories abound, but Mrs. Dill pointed out that it gives some women a boost to their self-esteem and position within their own communities.

?Young women think that by going out with someone who has been incarcerated, their self-esteem is raised by having been with a person who is this way, in other words a gang leader, and it is also linked to violence among women. Women are fighting in their own groups, they say, ?I?m his woman!?. This is a gang mentality which makes them special and raises them within their own community.?

In Bermuda women tend to be very successful professionally, however, low levels of self-esteem are leading many to become involved in abusive relationships. Mrs. Dill said the WRC is working to focus on teaching young women to recognise healthy relationships, to build self-esteem and to know life skills. However, providing resources for the protection and support of women comes at a cost particularly when the WRC runs on a limited yearly budget of $60,000 a year.

Mrs. Dill said programmes are making an impact, but in order to meet the costs of education and protection the centre needs at least $375,000 a year to lobby for real changes.

?It should not take a situation like this to make us want to respond. It is very sad that someone has to lose their life before we as a community react.

?We must get together and lobby for changes to make this a safer place for the women of Bermuda. They are our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our grand-daughters,? she said.

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