Faced with consistently high numbers of domestic abuse cases weekly, Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey is proposing the establishment of a domestic abuse court, even as one women’s group is calling for stiffer penalties for perpetrators.

“Domestic violence is a special kind of crime and it’s about time we start treating it differently,” the magistrate said. “It has an ingredient that keeps coming back for more and maybe we should look at having a domestic abuse court.”

The magistrate made the suggestion while dealing with an alleged case of domestic abuse in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on January 4. The case in question involved Howard Robinson, who is charged for attempted murder.

Robinson reportedly lured the complainant, his female lover, away from her home under the guise that they were going to talk after her ex visited her. He instead took her to a location in Kingston where he and three men allegedly beat her with pieces of iron and board until she lost consciousness.

The complainant in her statement had indicated that she shared an intimate relationship with Robinson, and that he was extremely jealous and loved to punch.

Robinson’s matter is one of several domestic abuse cases that come before the court on a weekly basis. A few of the cases have ended in tragedy, where males and females alike are before the court on murder charge; however, a large number of the cases are assaults in which the perpetrators, mostly males, are charged for beating women.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC), while not pouring cold water entirely on the magistrate’s suggestion, said that the organisation’s issue is more with the efficiency of the court systems.

“WROC along with other women’s organisations have long called for stiffer penalties as it relates to gender-based violence, and in Jamaica it is almost as if domestic abuse/gender-based violence has became normalised; and we and other women’s organisation call for an end to this archaic practice which does not promote democracy or human rights,” said Nickeisha Sewell, projects coordinator at WROC.

The organisation said it would like for domestic violence cases to be dealt with in a speedier and more responsible time frame. The organisation said it believes that stiffer penalty would help to discourage the pratice.

According to Sewell, gender-based violence is the greatest human rights violation.

“We need to take it from within the courtroom and out across the island so that everyone will know that it is an unacceptable practice and should be condemned, and that there should be financial and social consequences,” she added.

Sewell said that all Jamaicans need to play a role in ensuring that no one feels that any type of violence is acceptable.

WROC’s call was supported by human rights advocate Valerie Dixie.

“The book should be thrown at these men; they should be given the highest forms of punishment to send a message why it is just not acceptable,” she said.

She however blamed women for allowing men to continue to abuse them.

“We women are responsible for a lot of the crimes that are perpetrated against us, because a lot of us stay in abusive situations due to want of status, the want of financial gains, and we will put up with just about anything to allow our status quo to remain,” Dixon said.

Furthermore, she said: “We are too forgiving when we should have simply said enough is enough and stand and unite together as women, and say we are not going to stand for this sort of thing anymore even if it means lowering of our socio-economic status. But we need to take a stand as too many of us are willing to accept abuse because of how we see our place in society.”

However, for Sewell, the situation is much more complex as many victims grow up in a culture of domestic abuse. “We need to look at all the challenges that are surrounding persons in domestic violence situation.”

“Have we done enough so that when a person is in a domestic violence situation they can leave that place? she asked. “Where are the shelters that women can go, what happen to women when they leave the homes of domestic violence? What training will be put in place so that when they leave their homes they can go on and transition into a better life?” she questioned.

“I think sometimes we do a little blame game but what resources are there for people to walk out of their situation?” she further asked.

“This is not poor people problem, this is not a problem that is segregated to a section of Jamaica. It is a Jamaican problem so we need to play our part and ask our Government and the private sector to put resources behind places of safety,” Sewell said.

She also called on Government and the private sector to invest in programmes that will help to eradicate gender-based violence.