The Secretariat of State for Security (SoSS), organized through the General-Directorate, training sessions on domestic violence for teachers, members of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL), focal points for community conflict prevention, suco and village chiefs, and also students. The training sessions took place during two days, on July 4th and 5th, in the Maubara Vila sub-district under the theme “Together we fight domestic violence and will produce harmony within the family and the society.”
The Gender Working Group representative from the Secretariat of State for Security, António Viegas, said, “the number of domestic violence cases may decrease when the people become aware of how to prevent it. With this in mind, I appeal to the youth who are involved in this training, to publicize in the community all the knowledge you are to acquire, so that everyone knows how to prevent domestic violence, especially within the family circle. “
According to the Assistant at the PNTL police station in the Maubara sub-district, Manuel Maria Fernandes, “since January to the beginning of July, we have recorded 14 complaints on cases of domestic violence. These complaints are already being presented to Court, so that trials may proceed according to the law. This means that the number of cases of domestic violence in this sub-district is very high, when compared with other sub-districts. “
The Assistant Administrator of Maubara, José Menezes Serão, congratulated the organizing committee for this initiative, and requested that this event, in the future, will also occur in the rural areas, since most of these cases come from there. José Menezes also stated that domestic violence could also occur in reverse order within the family, i.e, between parents and children and between wife and husband. He appealed to the youth to renounce violence and to cultivate peace in their hearts, so that together they may develop their country.