The Family Planning Association (FPATT) has offered counselling and psychosocial support to relatives of murder victim, Shadie Dassrath.

A release on Thursday from FPATT said its board of directors, management and staff offered condolences to the family. The release said the death of Dassrath, 31, a domestic violence victim, is another stain on the conscience of the national community.

The release said, “This is another dark day in our country, coming in the midst of heightened activism around the world against gender-based violence, as it represents again that despite our efforts to improve our response to violence, our responses often come too little, too late.”

Early Friday, a 24-year-old man told police that he found her body at her home at Temple Street, La Romaine. A few hours earlier, they two had argued.

An autopsy found that she died from blunt force trauma and police detained the man, a security guard.

Her father, Brian Singh, was murdered 18 years ago in Tobago.

The release said the association, together with the Spotlight Initiative, co-ordinated by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has rolled out several programmes and tools to support survivors of abuse.

One such initiative includes its gender-based violence hotline, (868) 733-6703.

It runs from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Mondays to Fridays, by bilingual providers.

Its psychosocial support services include counselling with certified psychologists and other mental health providers.

Staffers also offer clinical case management and emergency services, including critical interventions in sexual assault and rape cases. It also partners with other agencies to ensure people access medical, social and legal services.

The association and the Spotlight Initiative, an initiative targeted to eliminate all forms of violence, are creating a mobile app —HUE — an empowerment tool connecting male and female survivors of violence and other vulnerable groups.

Owing to the pandemic, the association said it has been limited in providing services within communities and rolling out in-person outreach programmes.

“This has been a handicap that we acknowledge. We hope to be able to move beyond today, this month and in the new year working together with the government and other agencies to partner in the delivery of care and support to those vulnerable communities who need them,” the release said.

“We acknowledge that as an NGO, our reach is limited and the success of our efforts require the buy in, engagement and support of the wider community,”

For that reason, the association, yet again, called on the national public to stand up and speak out against domestic violence.

FPATT said, “Our success in protecting the vulnerable among us can only be achieved if we can all come together and work towards this shared goal.”

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