Since the establishment of four domestic violence intervention (DVI) centres last March under the European Union-United Nations Spotlight Initiative aimed at eliminating violence against women and girls, 704 cases have been seen, leading Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson to highlight the need for other such centres elsewhere in the island.

The police commissioner, who was speaking at yesterday’s virtual launch for another six such centres, said the 704 cases were recorded up to September this year. A number of them were dealt with by the police personnel manning them while others were referred to the Disputes Resolution Foundation and the Ministry of Gender Affairs.

“The six new centres are an important next step but as soon as you put them in place you can see that there are areas in the country that are deficient and that we are going to have to look at reasonably quickly to get them in place in some other locations,” General Anderson said, noting that already 140 individuals for manning the centres which are attached to select police stations were trained last year and 175 police officers and other individuals trained this year.

He said the fully operationalised DVI centre located at Greater Portmore Police Station and officially launched yesterday is one of the anticipated six that “will serve a wide community over there”.

“In the next few weeks, we will add another five centres — St Mary, St Ann, St Elizabeth, Clarendon and Westmoreland — and we are also looking at another one to put in place in Montego Bay. This will increase the centres in the country to 11,” he stated.

In the meantime, he said one positive was that the timeline for the opening of the additional centres has been brought forward from year-end, as was originally envisaged.

“Fortunately we have brought this one forward and I think we will establish the other five long before the end of the year. We are ahead of our planned implementation, which is good, especially because most things are retarded because of the COVID pandemic,” the commissioner said, adding that it was novel to have the police at the forefront of managing these centres.

The centres, which cater not only to victims but also perpetrators, operate on the pillars of intervention, counselling, awareness, response, and empathy and are free of cost. Individuals can call their respective police stations to be directed to the nearest centre.

Based on recent statistics, 28 per cent of Jamaican women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In 2018, 71 per cent of girls under 18 who were victims of crime had been raped. Two out of 10 girls aged 15 to 19 years think it is okay for a husband or partner to hit his wife or partner, and 85 per cent of children experience violent discipline at home. A 2016 Women’s Survey showed that one in four women has reported experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Globally, approximately 42 per cent of women have experienced violence.

Yesterday, European Union Ambassador to Jamaica Marianne Van Steen described the incidence of violence against women and girls as the “less visible pandemic” that cannot be ignored.

“It is a good day and it is also a sad day because despite the tremendous progress that we have seen in almost all spheres in this 21st century, domestic violence and in particular gender-based violence still remains too prominently present in unfortunately all our societies,” she said.

Addressing the police personnel who man the centres the ambassador said, “You are the gateway. You are the lifeline. Empathy is key.”

She expressed hope that the officers serving in the respective centres will not only see the crimes that have been committed from a law enforcement perspective but will also devise ways of engendering lasting peace within families and communities.

Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange, in her address, said the handing over of the centres was a “watershed moment”.

“These centres are strategically placed and will play a critical role in the delivery of service islandwide to support the implementation of the National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-based Violence in Jamaica (NSAP-GBV) 2017-2027, as part of the comprehensive treatment of this vexed issue of gender-based violence,” Grange said.

She pointed out that the addition of six new centres will go a far way to close the gap between individuals who experience domestic violence and their ability to access the services which are available at the parish level.

Under the Spotlight Initiative €8 million is being invested on a range of efforts to change and influence laws and policies, individual behaviour and wider social norms. Efforts are also geared towards strengthening institutions that serve girls and women and improve the delivery of essential services to them.