Executive Director of Mah Mah, the Montserrat Women’s Resource Centre (MWRC), Shirley Osborne said she is disappointed that local medical professionals are dismissing a young woman’s claims that she had been assaulted by a doctor.
Physicians on Wednesday morning said they were only seeing emergency and in-house patients as a protest for the way the case against their colleague Dr. Franklin Perkins was being handled. Perkins appeared in court on Wednesday morning.
In a strongly worded statement, Osborne said:
“The MWRC is deeply disturbed that any young woman on Montserrat ever has grounds to make reports of this nature, and stands in support of this young woman and all other victims and alleged victims of gender based assault.
“It is very unfortunate and discouraging that the onus is always on the girls and women in Montserrat to prove their allegations rather than on the alleged perpetrators to disprove them.
“Everywhere in the world, girls and women who feel or find themselves sexually assaulted to any degree, almost always also find themselves having to prove that they are telling the truth, that their word is as good as other people’s and that it is not their fault and they did not somehow “cause” the unwanted attention.”
“The MWRC would have preferred that everyone have accorded our legal system the opportunity to work and provide justice for both the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator and cautions all concerned or interested to trust our system to so its work.”
Mah-Mah – The Montserrat Women’s Resource Centre provides supportive and educational services for girls and women in Montserrat.
Their helpline number is 496-6700.
