Domestic Violence Legislation a Giant Leap for Barbadians
Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group Under the amended statute, a junior police officer may issue an emergency protection order if he or she has reason to believe that such an order is necessary to ensure the safety of a person at risk. Low-ranking officers may also issue emergency protection orders without the consent of…
Under the amended statute, a junior police officer may issue an emergency protection order if he or she has reason to believe that such an order is necessary to ensure the safety of a person at risk. Low-ranking officers may also issue emergency protection orders without the consent of the persons at risk.
Among the other powers handed to the Royal Barbados Police Force is the authority to enter any premises without a warrant if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an emergency protection order, an interim protection order or a final protection order is being breached. Officers will also be given the power to enter premises –– upon the invitation of a person resident there or independently –– if there is reasonable grounds to suspect that a person on the premises has suffered, or is in imminent danger of suffering, physical injury at the hands of some other person. Barbados Today, January 28th. 2016 (Neville Clarke)
The Mahogany Coconut Group welcomes the recently passed legislation in Barbados, which should have far reaching effects in making the law tougher against those who carry out acts of domestic violence. The MCG believes that such legislation is long overdue. However this is a case of “better late than never”.
Of course we expect that the legal fraternity, for political and other reasons, may very well find fault with some aspects of the bill. We therefore are not surprised, that there is already an attempt to portray the bill as some attack on democratic rights. There seems to be some concern that the Bill gives the police too much power.We beg to differ. As always, those who believe that the Act gives the police too much power, are displaying an acute ignorance, of the plight of those who are the victims of often brutal acts of domestic violence.
They fail to understand and accept that without the ability of law enforcement to “act on the spot”, victims are usually murdered. No concentration on or the scoring of cheap legal points can bring back a life! There are too many instances that reveal after the police are called, the victim refuses to press charges or are afraid of their private life being exposed in public. Too many victims suffer in silence and they end up in the cemetery.
Our initial response is that the new Domestic Violence legislation is a step, or should we say many steps, in the right direction. We can only hope that the law enforcement agencies, are not intimidated when carrying out their lawful duties. In small societies, there is always the risk of having to arrest a friend or a neighbour, who runs afoul of the law. They will also find themselves fighting and confronting deep cultural behaviours that over time are accepted as the norm.
There was a time when women who were daily beaten up by men, were told:” if he did not love yuh,(you) he would not beat yuh”. Hopefully those dark days are behind us. We should also remember that hundreds of incidents of domestic abuse remain unreported and unknown. Some mistakenly believe that it is the preserve of the lower economic groups. However, it is a known fact that domestic violence is found at all levels of society.
We therefore commend the government of Barbados for bringing such legislation to a reality. It is an important victory for all those organizations and citizens, who are seeking to eliminate all forms domestic violence, from their society.
67 responses to “Domestic Violence Legislation a Giant Leap for Barbadians”
The Gazer
Curious, is there room for abuse of the law itself?
Officers will also be given the power to enter premises –– upon the invitation of a person resident there or independently –– if there is reasonable grounds to suspect that a person on the premises has suffered, or is in imminent danger of suffering, physical injury at the hands of some other person”
What if I do not like a person and claim that he/she is abusing his partner?
What if someone moves onto my drug turf and I get the police to harass him by claiming he is abusing his partner?
What if a corrupt PO …
We really see no problem here. The abuser/victim man or woman should be treated equally under the law.
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Bush Tea
A piss poor workman always blames his tools.
A lousy batsman blames the pitch
…and brass bowl politicians always blame the law…. and pay crooked lawyers to draught new ones for the next set of political brass bowls to blame…”
Meanwhile, every shiite falls apart and Froon brags that his government has ‘survived’ beyond all logical expectations….
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millertheanunnaki
@ Mahogany Cocomut Group February 1, 2016 at 8:31 PM
“The abuser/victim man or woman should be treated equally under the law.”
Now here is where the weakness of that piece of so-called comprehensively robust legislation fails to meet the “A” grade. The abuser/victim man or woman MUST be treated equally under the law.
And that’s a reality on the ground especially in a modern society where many women control the bigger employment/income earning purse and many men are ‘just rent-a-stud at her convenience’.
It’s a well known fact that men who were abused by women were subsequently dismissed as soft or sissy men and laughed out of the police stations when the abused men reported the matter.
Why not make it mandatory for the police to be totally unbiased in enforcing the law with provisions for the same police to be jointly and severally sued by the aggrieved party for large sums for failure to adhere to those ‘enforcement’ provisions of the law?
Bush shit you always quarelling and grumbling .is there any where on this God,s green earth you can go and be happy. Btw take them stinky bras bowls wid u
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The Gazer
Good/great comment Miller.
There must be some way that John Public can read this stuff for him-/herself.
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The Gazer
ac.. you helping to write these laws?…
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Walter Blackman
millertheanunnaki February 1, 2016 at 7:58 PM #
“It will be interesting to see how the police would respond to a case where the man is being abused or suspects he is about to be abused and calls upon the police.”
millertheanunnaki,
Most likely the police would take out their notebook and respectfully jot down a few pieces of data. When they get back to the squad car, they will burst out laughing.
Back in the 1970’s, I boarded a Pine/Parkinson Field minibus by the Fairchild Street market . A couple boarded the minibus at The people’s Cathedral bus stop, and they brought their bickering, accusations, and counter-accusations with them into the vehicle. By the time the bus reached the MTW stop in the Pine, the woman could not take it any longer. She had slipped on some “steel knuckles” a few minutes ago, and, in spite of the limited elbow room, she now unleashed two vicious straight rights to the man’s face that Muhammad Ali would have been proud to call his own. Having successfully used the element of surprise, she proceeded to fleece her man in licks. The passengers roared in laughter, and one of them could be overheard shouting: “He is no man. He gotta be a manicou or a mangoose.”
That is the prevailing attitude we have towards men who are beaten by women.
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Violet C Beckles
Domestic Violence Legislation a Giant Leap for Barbadians = Bull ,, Naked Departure have been Hammering what have and still going on in the school with the teachers and children and Adult Ministers and the Church,,, Big Up crimes against Children,,, lazy Pigs in the Peoples House, that need to be removed.
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Simple Simon
@Walter Blackman February 1, 2016 at 9:22 PM “She had slipped on some “steel knuckles” a few minutes ago, and, in spite of the limited elbow room, she now unleashed two vicious straight rights to the man’s face that Muhammad Ali would have been proud to call his own.”
So what did you do to help the poor abused brother?
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are-we-there-yet
But Simple…… Yuh read when de man say it happened? Dah wuhman had on steel nuckels. and she beat and embarrassed her man like a professional pugilist. Yuh expect any onlooker dere would take her on? reporting the matter to de police wouldn’t have helped him in any way.
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Well Well & Consequences
“Kevin Steele, the new county district attorney, believes Cosby needed an immunity agreement — in writing — to avoid prosecution. He has said he has no evidence that one exists.”
This should worry all the Bill Cosby fans and enablers, he is in court right now praying that an immunity agreement suddenly appears…lol
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Walter Blackman
Simple Simon February 1, 2016 at 10:25 PM #
“@Walter Blackman February 1, 2016 at 9:22 PM “She had slipped on some “steel knuckles” a few minutes ago, and, in spite of the limited elbow room, she now unleashed two vicious straight rights to the man’s face that Muhammad Ali would have been proud to call his own.”
So what did you do to help the poor abused brother?”
Simple Simon,
I wrote that “The passengers roared in laughter…”
I was a passenger. Therefore, implicitly, I roared in laughter.
It doesn’t make me look or sound like a hero. In fact there were no male heroes on that bus trip. Only one male victim, and that was enough.
Until we witness police officers in Barbados being brought up on domestic violence charges, than we will be certain of the effectiveness of the domestic violence legislation in Barbados.
Police are some of the biggest offenders of domestic violence in Barbados, but this Is only made possible because they’re cognizant that fellow officers will cover for them.
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Exclaimer
“Letter from Africa: Namibia’s battle with passion killings”
“One Namibian clinical psychologist attributed the spate of killings to a general breakdown of the family unit, to the lack of parental guidance for self-obsessed young adults who can no longer tell right from wrong as well as “low self-esteem among men, material dependence, poor coping mechanisms and failure to handle rejection”.
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