House Speaker Corine George-Massicotte has urged the Virgin Islands to strengthen its laws and policies to address technology-facilitated violence, saying the territory has not yet taken a proactive stance on the growing threat of digital abuse.
Speaking during the October 30 sitting of the House of Assembly, George-Massicotte said she recently led a discussion on the issue at the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference in Barbados. The session focused on “addressing facilitated violence against women, the role of parliament in promoting prevention, protection, and policy reform”.
She explained that while the BVI has laws addressing certain forms of violence and abuse, it has not “sufficiently adapted” its legislative and policy framework to “respond to the new and complex ways in which violence is now being facilitated”.
“This must change,” George-Massicotte insisted while adding that the House “must take the lead in shaping a more responsive and gender-sensitive legislative agenda that recognises the realities of modern forms of violence”.
