3 days ago
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The Office of the Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children is taking decisive steps in response to the widely publicized domestic abuse case involving police constable Phillip Garbutt. Special Envoy Rossana Briceño has moved swiftly following the withdrawal of criminal charges against Garbutt in court with an effort to push for coordinated action. Briceño says she has already engaged her office and consulted with Prime Minister John Briceño, and has since written to Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado and Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira. The correspondence calls for a meeting aimed at forging a collaborative response to gender-based violence and strengthening protections for victims.
Rossana Briceño, Special Envoy of Belize: “A couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been talking about calling the police officers out, specifically when it comes to domestic violence and now this is child abuse, it’s compounded, and it’s done by a person that is not above the law. It’s a person that we’re supposed to put our confidence in, someone that’s supposed to protect us, and seeing that this is how they behave at home, in their home, it’s scary. So my reaction was like, “What is going on here?” I mean, something has to be done about this situation. My decision on sending that release out basically came because I felt I had to do something, and after I spoke to my staff, my husband of course, and I had heard that the commissioner and the minister were saying well something has to be done. So I had sent them a letter yesterday, actually, asking for a meeting to see how we can collaborate on the calling out campaign that I want to do. So I know the commissioner has acknowledged my letter and I know the minister will probably do so. So yeah, that’s how this really came about.”
Reporter: What was your husband’s response or reaction to it when you brought it to him?
Rossana Briceño, Special Envoy of Belize: “He said that, you know, that people need to be held accountable. And I know he supports the work that we do, the work with Human Development and he knows it’s not just my thing. Oh, Rossana is calling all the police because Rossana Briceño wants this done it will have it has nothing to do with Rossana Briceño it has to do with the community the community’s outcry I’ve read and seen so many posts of people asking for justice because like I said and I’ve mentioned it to the minister and I’ve mentioned it to the commissioner and to anybody that wants to hear, people we have to make examples of people or this will continue and they will think there’s no consequences to their actions.”
The Special Envoy also underscored the need for immediate and long-term support for the victims, noting that her office stands ready to assist both the mother, Deidre Jacobs, and her young son with counseling services. Briceño is also appealing to the wider community to play a more responsible role, urging Belizeans to be just as quick to offer support as they are to share graphic content online. Additionally, she acknowledged the delicate balance between raising awareness and avoiding the re-traumatization of victims, stressing that safeguarding dignity must remain a priority.
Reporter: Here you have a child now on a public platform being abused, how do you how do you handle that balance in terms of him not being ridiculed at school not being re-victimized that sort of thing because that’s another factor to the case isn’t it?
Rossana Briceño, Special Envoy of Belize: “Yes it is. Unfortunately our society when they spread things out and they put things out there they don’t care, they’re not thinking about what the consequences will be. They’re not thinking about how that poor child will feel. It’s about what they see. We react, we act on emotions and then we react on emotions again and again and again. And in terms of this poor child, okay, you rightly said so I don’t know this family. I would probably never meet this family, but a lot of people know who they are. I would suggest, my opinion, give them some privacy. Give them that time to heal. Offer support instead of criticizing and instead of just blasting. Offer support, pay for a counseling session. Both mom and child will need a lot of support. So I’m just thinking it’s hard to get to that balance like you mentioned but as a society, we can do it because we are the ones that put things out there. We are the ones that blast people. We are the ones that are just, we don’t think about the consequences. So yes, this child will be affected whether we like it or not, the child will be affected. Now it’s important that the adult, the responsible adult in this child’s life, find some support for this child. And if they can’t, they can reach out to my office, our office is willing and ready to help find therapy, counseling, whatever support that family needs.”
As we understand it, the case file is expected to be reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine whether charges on behalf of the child can be reinstated. At the same time, internal disciplinary proceedings within the police department remain ongoing, with Garbutt still on interdiction.
English (US) ·