One in every three women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime; however, since the onset of COVID-19, domestic violence cases have spiked across Jamaica.

Advocates and experts speculate that the actual number of cases is likely to be higher than the number reported, since many domestic violence victims do not report their abuse, which makes the data inaccurate and downplays the growing issue of gender-based violence.

Reasons victim-survivors do not report can be complex because there are so many factors at play such as:

a) the fear they wont be believed;

b) they are ashamed and might even blame themselves;

c) they minimising their experiences — denial is a safer place than feeling traumatised; and

d) they lack confidence in the justice system

e) they have no access to an income.

Many Jamaicans face abuse, but more specifically women and children. Recent statistics show that 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.

Executive director of Stand Up For Jamaica Carla Gullotta says the constraints resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced victims into close proximity with their abusers. In other words, people now have to spend more time with their abusers whereas, in the past, these individuals may have been able to leave their home to avoid an angry partner.

A study dubbed Inquiry into Sexual Assault among Young Jamaicans, conducted by the Nothern Caribbean University (NCU), shows that four in 10 Jamaicans between the ages of 18 and 30 have been sexually assaulted while complying with official stay-at-home orders issued by the Government under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).

Jamaica has been under a curfew for approximately two years, during which businesses and households have been on lockdown as a non-clinical method to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus throughout the population, which facilitates extra time at home — fewer opportunities for escape — in abusive relationships that can quickly become deadly.

One of the hardest lessons that we as a people have learnt is that the home is not a safe place for many women and children who are subject to domestic violence. Research conducted throughout the world has shown that gender-based violence (GBV) is most times carried out by people who the victim knows, which includes family members and family friends. The findings from the NCU report shows that ‘strangers’ represent a small percentage among identified perpetrators.

The study further found that 46 per cent of people who have been sexually assaulted indicated that they had been threatened following the encounter, 31.6 per cent were physically assaulted, while 52 per cent informed someone of the sexual encounter. What was alarming is that 95 per cent of those who were abused did not report the matter to the police.

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 come to the fore. This was announced by Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson at the virtual launch of six more centres. The alarming statistics highlights the desperation for us to find more creative ways to protect our women and children. It also highlights the need for more awareness and requires all hands on deck to clamour for change.

If we want to tackle GBV we need to take the time to understand the signs and symptoms of this growing pandemic being fuelled by a silent culture. One of the biggest problems with tackling this issue of gender-based violence is the lack of research and data analysis. COVID-19 has definitely restricted the efforts of authorities to address the issue with deep investigation and, in an ever-changing world, we are failing.

We can fluff about all these initiatives put in place by authorities to show some sort of effort to address the issue of GBV but, again, we are failing miserably in addressing the real problem — our men.

Gender-based violence issues have been labelled as a women’s issue which is, frankly, a big part of the problem. According to American educator Jackson Katz who mentors in violence prevention, this problem gives men an excuse not to pay attention to the issue and instead of the focus being on the abuser the focus turns to the victim.

The real questions are being asked about the victim, but what about the abuser? What is the role of various institutions in our society that are helping to produce abusive men at pandemic rates? What is the role of religious belief systems, music, the sports culture, pornography, the family structure, and economics in the shaping of our men? How does all of this intersect? Are we making the connections and asking thes important questions? When we have answered these questions and carried out the real work, we can talk about how we can be transformative by changing how we socialise our boys to prevent these outcomes.

This is a very deep, systematic social problem and women should demand more from our men in leadership. Silence is a form of consent and gender-based violence is everyone’s business. We need to create a culture in which abusive behavior is unacceptable at all levels. Martin Luther King Jr said, “In the end, what will hurt the most is not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Jamaican men have been loudly silent about violence against women and children and we need to break the silence— we need more men to break that silence.

The responsibility of taking a stand on these issues should not fall on the shoulders of little boys, but on adult men with power. They are the ones who should prioritise these issues and change the way people think by shedding light on the real problems in our society and showing solidarity with women who are labelled as angry feminist suffering from an overload of estrogen.

We owe this type of approach to women, but we also owe it to our sons. We can do better.

Jaid T Royal is a producer for Morning Agenda on Power 106FM and communication consultant for Stand Up Jamaica. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or jaidroyal@gmail.com