HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The rising level of violence in the islands across the Micronesian region has the Pacific Judicial Council pushing efforts to educate and train youth to manage their emotions in a health way.
“Family violence is a topic that is front and center in our mission,” said the council president, Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood. “Our island children have had a lot of strain placed upon their mental health and emotional well-being, especially during the covid-19 pandemic crisis times.”
The council has partnered with executive and legislative branches throughout the region to take on the issue of family violence.
This week, training will be held in the District Court of Guam and streamed to other participants in the CNMI, Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Yap, Kosrae, and American Samoa.
The council commissioned mental health expert, Dr. Neil Nedley, to develop a special curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school grade students, as well as outreach/in-reach seminar materials for the community and those workplaces that promote the mental wellness of their employees.
“I applaud Micronesia’s desire to get to the root of family violence and crime. Teaching an [emotional intelligence quotient] based curriculum with community outreach should do more in lowering crime in Micronesia than any other known methods available,” Nedley said.
The curriculum and outreach materials will be part of a pilot program in the islands from January to March next year.
“We felt as a council that we too want to be visionary leaders in government and so we decided to take the lead in organizing a team in each island,” Judge Tydingco-Gatewood said. “We wanted to promote a program such as this. It’s very ambitious and very historical because we’ve never done this before.”
