FROM January 1 to the end of June this year Jamaica recorded over 3,000 reported cases of domestic abuse, with the police stating that more men are braving up and lodging reports against female partners.

Deputy Superintendent Jacqueline Dillon, who is the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) domestic violence liaison officer, told the Jamaica Observer on Friday that since 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the police started seeing an increase in the number of men facing domestic abuse.

Dillon was speaking during the passing-out ceremony for 24 policemen and women who underwent a five-week domestic violence train-the-trainer course. The 24 are expected to train their colleagues on the best practices in dealing with domestic violence.

The ceremony was held at the National Police College of Jamaica.

“Every year since 2021 we have seen an increase. It is early days yet in 2023 but we are still seeing the trend where men are coming for help and asking for help. I believe that as we go on to the end of the year we should be able to analyse the reports some more and say how many men,” the deputy superintendent told the Sunday Observer.

According to Dillon, the more than 3,000 reports the police have received up to the end of June is startling, but highlighted that it does not mean the country is experiencing more domestic violence than previously.

“It is a lot, but we have to also understand that more reports don’t mean increases in domestic violence — it means that more people are becoming aware and are coming to the police for help. More people now know that they can reach out to various persons for help, including the police,” she said.

Of concern to Dillon is that Manchester has been experiencing an increase in domestic violence reports, and she said that the problem is linked to six deaths in the parish since the start of the year. Overall, Manchester has recorded more than 600 reports of domestic violence, ahead of Kingston and St Andrew which recorded between 300 and 400 reports, respectively.

“Manchester is leading the numbers; most of it is among intimate partners. We do have family members but it is mostly intimate partner violence. We are doing a careful analysis of Manchester because Manchester does not have a domestic violence intervention centre and so, going forward, we have to look at how we put in resources to assist and make it easier for citizens in Manchester to get help when it comes on to domestic violence.

“There are parishes we never looked at before because we were focusing on Clarendon, Kingston and St Andrew, and St Catherine. Looking at the records is telling a different story when it comes on to these other parishes. I can’t say it is caused by one particular factor but we find that [the reasons tened to be] a lack of communication, and a lack of persons being able to resolve their conflicts in ways that are positive, and the fact that people are not able to seek help at an early stage. Communities are not open to helping people who need help. Domestic violence does not only rely on people within families to get the help but it also needs the support of community members to help in ensuring people get the requisite help that they need,” Dillon said.

The 24 participants were exposed to topics such as the psychology of self, and emotional intelligence. Other core components of the training were fundamental concepts in gender-based violence and domestic violence in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and in a global context.

They were also brought through Jamaica’s legal policy and framework relating to domestic violence as well as the laws that relate. The training was tied in with Jamaica’s national strategic plan around gender-based violence, and therefore the Bureau of Gender Affairs was integral in providing necessary material.