Senior Reporter
andrea.perez-sobers@guardian.co.tt
The court system needs to be restructured to deal with domestic violence situations quickly.
That is the recommendation from Asiya Mohammed, founder of Conflict Women Ltd, who said domestic, sexual assault and rape cases should not go through the normal court system.
Mohammed noted that in recent cases, relatives of victims said the woman made several reports to the police about the abusive husband or boyfriend but nothing has been done. She said in some cases no report was ever lodged in the police station.
“It is your duty as a police officer to take action and to investigate. You are held accountable by the Domestic Violence Act. Take action, go out and investigate. Do your job and not just the police, because sometimes the police charge, but let’s look at our criminal justice system. Look at the courts,” she said.
Mohammed the court system needs restructuring, because domestic violence, sexual offences and rape matters, cannot be going through the regular system.
“These need to have a very special, fast-tracking mechanism because what is of the essence in gender-based violence cases is time. Time is of the essence. Today he could be hitting and beating, tomorrow he could be chopping and murdering,” she said
Asked whether more safe houses are needed for domestic abuse victims, Mohammed said she is not sure that is necessarily the answer.
“That is more like you’re treating the problem with a plaster. I think we need to understand why our men are murdering. Why are they beating women and children? Why are they violent? And why has society told them that it’s okay to do so? When did that become normal?” she said
Mohammed also called for the establishment of a femicide registry.
She explained, “What this does is just tell us, for example, was a report made, did she have a protection order, was there any matter in the courts, the perpetrator, did he have any kind of criminal offences? I mean, it could contain a whole lot of different information. That kind of detailed information is the analysis that we will need to solve and to prevent further femicides.”
Psychiatrist Dr Varma Deyalsingh said it is important, before getting into a relationship, for the woman to investigate his past, check out his social media posts, and see how reacts to certain things.
He also believes a system like the United Kingdom should be set up in T&T where persons can go and find out the man’s history in the public domain.
“If I slap my wife, and she reports it, it should be in the public domain because remember you reported it. If an assault is registered in the Magistrate’s Court it should be in a public site where I slapped my wife. Is he a potential abuser? Now some people will say but it could be a one-off thing.
“Granted, it could be a one-off thing. But then why would my wife go and report it if it was a one-off thing? Now, if you go into court, and something is listed at a court case as police charging you for assault of your wife, that should be public knowledge,” Deylasingh said.