BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Director of Gender Affairs, Celia Christopher, has revealed that in recent years cases of Domestic Violence have been on the rise in the Federation.
Addressing the issue with SKNVibes, Christopher explained that over the last two to five years, she has seen the trend going upwards, noting that it is not just limited to attacks perpetrated against women but also men.
With statistics, not readily available at the time of the interview, the Director said “the vast majority of domestic violence cases affect women”.
She added that in many instances the information received points to the perpetrators being in the age range of 18 to early 30s, with small cases involving men in their 40s.
She however declared that during her tenure at the Department, she has not seen any case where domestic violence attacks resulted in deaths.
“In the Department of Gender Affairs, we move very quickly, especially if it involves guns, to the point where we get magistrates to stay until 6’o clock and they wouldn’t leave until they give them [victim] that protection.”
Defining domestic violence based on the legislation as “an ongoing debilitating pattern of physical, emotional and or sexual abuse involving force or threat of force”, Christopher noted that it continues unabatedly despite all they are doing at the Department.
She reaffirmed that any act perpetrated within the confines of that definition is a criminal offence.
Asked about the possibility of lobbying for stiffer penalties for those found guilty in acts of domestic violence, the Director indicated that they are working on a protocol.
“Some years ago, when they had the Domestic Violence Act of 2000, it was drawn to the attention of the Department of Gender Affairs by a number of men that they thought that it was unfair the way domestic violence was addressed. And so they were able to get an amendment - the 2005 Amendment to include some other stuff in it. Because of the constant increase in domestic violence, we are trying to complete a Domestic Violence protocol [and] it involves consultation with a number of groups.”
Thus far, the Department had undertaken three consultations and it is looking at designing a mechanism for civil society to report cases.
Christopher disclosed that the entry point for victims is at the hospital, while many go to the police and others check in at the Department. So, a general reporting standard is needed across all sectors in order for such matters to be covered correctly.
She explained that on many occasions victims would go to the hospital and report their problem and they would be referred to the Department, where they would have to give that same statement then make a similar one to the police.
“Wherever they go there must be a protocol in how they handle these cases. In the past, you would have found that a number of cases would have started but have not yet reached court, and people don’t know what would have happened to their cases. So, with the introduction of the protocol, what it would do is that it would tell us exactly where these cases are dropping out, and then we would have to look to see why they are dropping out,” Christopher said.
Speaking to the role of her Department, Director Christopher explained that it is an advocacy and referral agency which often times could not enforce the law.
Instead, she noted that is the role of the law enforcement agency.
“For example, a victim shows up here this morning. The first thing that we do is do an intake and we see what the problem is. I normally do mediation because I am trained in that area; I listen to both sides. If we don’t have the services and expertise in here, we make the referral.”
In many instances, it was revealed that despite counselling, mediation and separation, victims often find their way back with the perpetrators who would continue to abuse them.
The Director however noted that she has not seen any case of domestic violence involving homosexuals in St. Kitts and Nevis.
