At times it seems as if the entire community is focused on men.There’s talk of male violence, of empowering young men; there are studies commissioned to look at male apathy it would be easy for women in Bermuda to feel overlooked.The Women’s Resource Centre has never forgotten the other half of the population.The organisation will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a women’s empowerment forum and a scavenger hunt designed to educate participants on the history of women in Bermuda. The Royal Gazette spoke with executive director, Elaine Williams, and counsellor Elisabeth Kast to learn more about the role the WRC plays here.“The empowerment of women involves the entire community because of relationships which include their children and the men in their lives,” said Ms Williams. “For example, one of our trainings is on mothers parenting sons.“The objective of the training is to help mothers to understand the power that they have to impact the outcome of the men that they are raising, sometimes alone.“The expected outcome is that the mother will better understand the dynamics of the male and be better equipped to impact this relationship in a positive way.“We also facilitate training on fathers raising daughters. Both courses are for parenting in general, either for married or single parents. We have had exceptionally positive feedback.”She said there was a need in the community for more education about gender equity, because although women slightly outnumber men in Bermuda and are generally better educated, they are not represented at all levels.Ms Williams believed that if they were better represented it would greatly contribute to the overall well-being and economic stability of society.“Many people also do not understand that the empowerment of women and gender equity does not mean that women want to be in charge or that they hate men,” said Ms Williams.Ms Kast said she did not believe that the problems of the community could be solved by looking at just one gender.“The young males who are dealing with issues in the community, such as incarceration and gang involvement, were likely raised in an unstable environment by mothers who didn’t have enough support,” she said. “You can’t really help them without also assisting females who are their mothers, their daughters, and their sisters. You have to really address both issues.”Ms Kast started as a counsellor in January but has been involved with the WRC since 2006.Before she began working as a counsellor she expected to deal with issues such as domestic violence, poverty and sexual assault, but has been surprised by the volume of need. She sees about five clients a day.“There is a very high demand for our counselling services right now,” Ms Kast said. “We are going through a difficult time in Bermuda, socially, economically and politically.“Women are coming in with even more complex issues. They are dealing with poverty on top of experiences of trauma and violence. The job is what I expected but I would say the demand for our services is higher than what I was anticipating.“Due to the economic circumstances women don’t have as many resources to improve their circumstances whether it is in regards to getting out of an unhealthy relationship, or providing for their families as a single mother.“It impacts them and their children in many ways. Certainly, the need for financial support is one of the reasons why women stay in unhealthy relationships.”Ms Williams said the economic situation in Bermuda had impacted the WRC greatly, and as a result of the many women they dealt with struggling with job losses, they were collaborating more with services such as Government Financial Assistance and Child and Family Services.“This is in order to assist families with plans for achievable outcomes,” said Ms Williams. “We are also having to strategically operate with less resources versus a higher demand for services.“In the past our services included direct response to issues relating to domestic violence and sexual assault. We now have many requests to meet basic human needs such as food, shelter and clothing.“There is also a measurable increase in the instance of violence toward elderly women, non-Bermudian women and younger women.”Ms Kast did not think that things would necessarily improve completely for women if the economy suddenly became better.“If the economy got better it would help, but there is a tremendous amount of violence against women on this Island,” she said. “It is higher than I think people realise. Childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault runs rampant in Bermuda.“Although some of these issues might get worse during bad economic times even when the economy is strong there is still going to be violence against women.”The WRC held a forum for non-Bermudian women yesterday, to educate them about their rights in Bermuda.“The non-Bermudian women married to Bermudian men, often don’t know their rights,” said Ms Kast. “They struggle with gaining independence and being able to provide for their families if they want to get out of their possibly abusive relationships to a Bermudian.”She said what made the WRC special was that they offered assistance to women for any issue that they were facing.The WRC aims to be a resource and advocate for women, regardless of whether they were experiencing housing problems, domestic violence, sexual assault or financial difficulties.“So we are very broad in terms of the support we offer,” said Ms Kast. “We are very well established and we have been in the community for awhile. We are familiar with women’s needs here and we know how to address them.”Ms Williams said the WRC had managed to sustain its commitment to the women of Bermuda for over 25 years.“That in itself speaks to the commitment of many who have been involved along the way and to the response by the community to our services,” she said.The WRC initially operated under a crisis response model, but now focuses more on prevention of problems such as domestic abuse, and women’s empowerment, she explained.“We not only want to respond to our clients’ crisis needs, but we want to provide them with after care and prevention to enable them to empower themselves, their families and ultimately the community,” she said.Ms Williams has been executive director since 2009.She completed a ten-week domestic violence and sexual assault training course in 1989, and ended up volunteering for the charity’s hotline for eight years.She previously worked for the Bermuda Hospitals Board.“When the position of executive director became available, it was natural for me to apply,” said Ms Williams. “I am very interested in the empowerment of women. I love working with people.“Before I left the BHB I decided to expand my skills and attained a degree in human services management which serves me quite well at the WRC.”In honour of the charity’s 25th anniversary, a founders’ day tea will be held on June 24 at the Bermuda National Trust’s Paget headquarters, Waterville, from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets, $35, can be purchased by telephone, 295-3882, or e-mail, event@wrcbermuda.com.A women’s leadership forum will be held at Ocean View Golf Club on June 28 from 5pm to 9pm. Tickets, $50, can be purchased the evening of the event. Admission includes two complimentary drinks.A scavenger hunt will be held on July 1 at Charities House in Paget, from 2.30pm to 5pm. Entry is $100 for a four-person team. To register telephone 295-9833 or e-mail www.wrcbermuda.com.