THE BOTTOM- Coordinator domestic violence and child abuse Mildred Rijhiner, social worker Gideon Wilson, and senior social worker and policy advisor Lucrecia Paulina are visiting different islands in the Dutch Kingdom for an exchange in expertise in the area of domestic violence and child abuse.

Rijhiner, who is part of the No Mas No More Task Force for domestic violence and child abuse, Wilson and Paulina went to Curaçao to attend a two-day training on Thursday, October 27 and Friday, October 28. The main theme of this training is sexual violence/crime. Aspects like the legal framework of sexual offences, the impact and profiling of sexual perpetrators, and recidivism are discussed in presentations and workshops. The training is provided by the organization Opleidingsinstituut Rechtshandhaving en Veiligheidszorg (ORV). 

After Curaçao, Rijhiner, Wilson, and Paulina will be on Bonaire on October 31 and November 1 where they visit the new shelter and advice and reporting point, Akseso, as well as the women shelter Tabitha. These visits are to gain more expertise in matters relating to implementing and running both a shelter and an advice and reporting point domestic violence and child abuse. On Saba, the team of the Community Development Department is making extensive efforts to establish a shelter and advice and reporting point domestic violence and child abuse.

Guided living

On Bonaire, the team will also visit organizations such as Krusada and Jong Bonaire, seeing that these organizations have experience in providing guided living. This is an area that Paulina has been working extensively on, since there are some persons on Saba who could benefit from assisted living. Paulina, Rijhiner and Wilson will also visit the prison on Bonaire seeing that the Community Development Department is working on realizing a re-integration plan for returning former inmates. 

If time permits, the three will also try to visit the guided living institution Nos Perseveransha of Mental Health Caribbean. This will be in the line of understanding better the policy of these institutions behind decisions made regarding persons of Saba.

Child Help Line

After Bonaire, the three will go to Aruba where on November 1, they will meet with the director of the Child Help Line which is the same organization that Saba collaborates with for Saba’s child help line Guana Chat, coordinated by Rijhiner. On November 2, the three will visit the shelter Guia Mi, as well as the advice and reporting point Bureau Sostene Mi on Aruba. The goal is the same as on Bonaire, namely to gain more expertise needed to establish and run a (women) shelter and reporting point on Saba. 

The next stop is St. Eustatius, where on November 4, Paulina, Rijhiner and Wilson will attend an women empowerment event. On November 5, the three will travel back to Saba.