Violence, particularly against women, remains one of Jamaica’s most serious social and public health challenges. While it often unfolds behind closed doors, its effects reach far beyond the home — families are torn apart, children carry lasting emotional scars, communities suffer, and the health system is left to treat the physical and psychological consequences. The justice system, too, bears the weight of conflicts that have gone far beyond the point at which they might have been resolved peacefully.

The scale of the problem is difficult to ignore. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 19.5 per cent of every married or partnered women in Jamaica have experienced intimate partner violence during their lifetime, while 5.9 per cent experienced it within the past year. In 2024 alone, Jamaica’s Injury Surveillance System recorded 1,985 cases of violence against women, the majority involving women between the ages of 18 and 40. More than half of these incidents (56 per cent) occurred in the home, the very place where people should feel safest.

A PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN

As minister of health and wellness, I see violence not only as a matter for the police and the courts, but also as a major public health concern. Assaults place additional pressure on emergency departments, operating theatres, mental health services, rehabilitation programmes, and health-care workers. It leaves lasting scars on victims and their families, while placing additional strain on public resources that are already under pressure.

Every incident prevented means one less person requiring emergency treatment, one less family living with trauma, and one less child exposed to violence that can shape the rest of his or her life. Prevention has always been one of the most effective tools in health care. The same principle applies here.

That is why I welcome the Mediation Bill, 2026, now being advanced by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck. It offers another way to address conflict before it escalates into something far more damaging.

It is important, however, to be clear about what mediation is and what it is not. Mediation should never replace the protection of victims or the enforcement of the law. Where there is abuse, coercive control, serious violence, intimidation, or an immediate risk to someone’s safety, the appropriate response is protection through the justice system, not mediation. Victims must always come first, and those who commit criminal acts must continue to be held accountable. Those safeguards remain essential.

UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS CAN DEEPEN

There are, however, many disputes that arise long before violence occurs. Financial pressures, disagreements over parenting, conflicts between neighbours, tensions within extended families, or breakdowns in communication can deepen over time. While not every disagreement becomes violent, unresolved conflict can create circumstances in which relationships deteriorate and harm becomes more likely. In those situations, giving people an opportunity to resolve their differences constructively may prevent far more serious consequences later.

Mediation provides that opportunity. It creates a structured environment in which people can speak openly, better understand each other’s concerns, and work towards practical solutions with the guidance of a trained and impartial mediator. A couple struggling under financial pressure, for example, may find healthier ways to communicate and reach agreement before constant conflict begins affecting their children or develops into something more serious.

The legislation gives this approach meaningful legal standing. It allows the minister and the Mediation Board to establish community, family, and domestic mediation programmes while preserving the voluntary nature of participation. Where mediation is appropriate, and both parties reach an agreement, sections 50 to 54 protect the confidentiality of the process, while Section 48(2) allows the Supreme Court to enforce the agreement in the same way it would enforce one of its own judgments.

ROLE OF COURT NOT DIMINISHED

None of this diminishes the role of the courts. They remain responsible for protecting rights, ensuring accountability, and delivering justice where laws have been broken. Yet many people involved in family, workplace, or community disputes continue living, working, or raising children together long after legal proceedings have ended. In appropriate cases, mediation can help preserve relationships, reduce hostility, and encourage solutions that are more likely to last.

As St Catherine justice of the peace and gazetted mediator Moyena Nangle-Beech has observed through her own experience, mediation provides “a structured and respectful environment where individuals can openly communicate, resolve disputes, and rebuild relationships. It encourages understanding rather than confrontation and promotes accountability without the need for escalation, while restoring peace and strengthening community cohesion”.

That experience reflects the wider value of mediation. Success should not be measured simply by the number of mediation sessions conducted. Its real value lies in the conflicts that never become assaults, the families who receive support before relationships break down completely, and the children who are spared growing up in environments shaped by fear and violence.

In health care, we often say that prevention is better than cure. That principle should not stop at the hospital doors. If mediation helps prevent even one family from descending into violence, spares one child from witnessing abuse, or keeps one person from becoming another patient in our emergency departments, then it is a tool worthy of our support. Health is about more than treating injuries. It is about creating the conditions in which people can live safely, resolve differences peacefully, and build stronger families and communities.

Dr Christopher Tufton is Jamaica’s minister of health and wellness.

(Photo: Joseph Wellington)