The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security plans to roll out new interventions to reshape the way men access support services and the manner in which domestic violence is addressed legally.
Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast on Sunday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud said the strategies will focus primarily on prevention and protection.
The initiative will also address the reality that many families experience where men struggle emotionally and mentally in silence. Minister Persaud believes this leads to destructive conduct within the family.
The ministry has been actively creating safe, structured environments where men can openly engage with issues often left unspoken.
Dr Persaud called attention to the ‘Brave Centre’, designed to provide confidential, peer-supported spaces for men to discuss mental health, relationships, and personal challenges.
“[It is] a circle and space only for men, where they have experts who have been trained to work with men. They can discuss anything there, from fatherhood and parenting to relationships to masculinity, emotional stability, conflict resolution, anger management, and mentorship,” she explained.
Apart from these social interventions, the government has moved to strengthen the legal framework governing domestic abuse through the Family Violence Act of 2024, which replaces outdated provisions with broader protections and clearer enforcement mechanisms.
According to Minister Persaud, the updated law reflects the evolving nature of violence within households.
The act expands the definition of violence beyond physical harm to include emotional, verbal, and economic abuse.
“We needed to move with the times and to look at what was happening. So it mushroomed into the Family Violence Act of 2024, giving broader coverage, giving an expanded definition, moving away from violence between two people, violence among family members, looking at the expanded definitions, and putting things like economic violence, verbal, emotional, all of those things,” she added.
Importantly, the legislation also introduces stricter timelines and removes discretionary practices that previously delayed justice. [DPI]
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