Trinidad & Tobago is in the midst of an interesting story playing out in real time - A beautiful island nation, a colorful assortment of characters, and the growing crime rate that is causing their paths to collide.
At the center of this saga is Nicole Dyer-Griffith. A pioneer, and a woman dedicated to change - pioneering for improvements throughout her beloved country, and changing the lives of women across it. She is currently focusing on women’s safety, and is leading the charge on amending the Firearms Act of 1970 of Trinidad and Tobago, to make pepper spray available to women as a means of protection against the rising crime rates.
“I started this call to amend the Firearms Act… based on the upsurge of acts of violence, particularly perpetrated against women… we have to start somewhere, hence the call for women to be afforded an option to protect themselves. One of the areas of concern raised, is that the pepper spray can be used by the perpetrators; however, my response to this is that the perpetrators already arm themselves with illegal firearms, and every other option - whereas the majority of law abiding citizens are without options.” - Nicole Dyer-Griffith
The current legislation from 1970 classifies pepper spray as a “prohibited weapon”, which puts it in the same category as artillery, grenades and missiles. When the Firearms Act was passed, pepper spray wasn’t widely available and little was known about it. With modern advancements in both technology and manufacturing we have seen pepper spray becoming a common and useful non-lethal option that millions of women across the United States carry every day for self defense - you can now find pepper spray being sold everywhere from grocery stores to office supply chains. In fact, a recent survey that was conducted at Texas State University found that nearly half of the female students already carried pepper spray on their keychains.
So as crime rates rose, and the women of Trinidad and Tobago found themselves with no options to protect themselves, Dyer-Griffith called on the government for help. She organized events, conducted interviews on news networks, and filed a petition which garnered support across the island nation. The ability to allow the women of Trinidad & Tobago to protect themselves now rests in the hands of the Attorney General, Faris Al- Rawi, who will be deciding the issue.
“I believe the Honorable Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago wants what is in the best interest of this country… we need to be reminded that personal safety and security is the fundamental right of each citizen of this country - and is not something that should be placed on a wait list.” - Nicole Dyer-Griffith
Faris Al Rawi is a man standing at a crossroad. Hailing from San Fernando West, he is passionate, charismatic, and respected; and he now finds himself in a position that has the potential to be historic.
At Kuros!® we have operations throughout the world, spanning from South America to South Asia. What we have consistently seen from governments is a lack of attention towards the safety of women; not because they don’t care, but because it’s not their top priority. Al Rawi’s ability to allow women to protect themselves sets a precedence for not just the Caribbean nation, but has the possibility to make Trinidad & Tobago a progressive example amongst nations across the globe.
We reached out to the Honorable Faris Al Rawi for comment, at the time of writing he had not responded.
If you want to get involved, you can sign Dyer-Griffith’s petition on Change.org