CHURCH COMMUNITIES HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK UP ON MOST VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 09, 2021 (SKNIS): Reverend Stanton Adams, Pastor and Island Coordinator of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has invited the church community to check on the most vulnerable members in society, especially in the context of COVID-19.

“As a church community, we need to be checking on the vulnerable members of our community, not just the faith community, but the wider community…because we are talking about women and girls and since the topic said COVID-19, the research globally is showing that because of all the lockdowns the United Nations has said that domestic violence has soared in certain countries by 700 percent in terms of calls to police and the agency that deals with stuff,” said Pastor Adams on the December 08, 2021, appearance on ‘Working for You’.

Pastor Adams said that statistics show violence has increased globally since the COVID-19 Pandemic due to “people being home in the same space, some of the shelters and so on are overwhelmed, people cannot access certain services and several other things.” He added that because of all these reasons and more, individuals become locked in the same space with abusive people.

He noted that an increase in domestic and gender-based violence has created a crisis whereby it is extremely important to engage the vulnerable to ensure that they are coping well.

“So, we are seeing that and I believe that we must be checking on the vulnerable in the community during the pandemic and post-pandemic because the research has shown that intimate partner violence goes up during a crisis when there is a crisis as this pandemic has brought,” said Pastor Adams. “People are stressed, anxious, and all these things… so you have to pay attention to the vulnerable members of your faith community and the other communities including women, girls, the elderly and the differently-abled. These people are abused as well, and it might amaze us to the degree that these people are abused.”

Pastor Adams noted that it is important to “understand some of the emotional, psychological and economic implications beyond COVID-19” and the long-lasting effects it will have on people and their well-being including their mental health.

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