TERTIARY-TRAINED women are more likely than other women to be abused by their boyfriends or husbands during the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to recent survey findings by researchers at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) .

The survey, conducted among 513 women in May and June 2021, found that 31.7 per cent of respondents admitted to being abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. Of this group, more than half (53.7 per cent) of them said they were educated at the tertiary level. The survey has a margin of error of four per cent.

“Women living in rural Jamaica are bearing the brunt (70 per cent) of the domestic abuse compared to their urban counterparts,” NCU stated in a report on the survey. “Furthermore, young women ages 18-25 years are experiencing the bulk (47 per cent) of the domestic abuse and are employed.”

The NCU finding that a third of women in Jamaica have experienced domestic violence during the COVID-19 period comes against the background of a May 2020 survey finding by Jamaicans For Justice that one in four women (25.2 per cent) had experienced physical violence by a male partner. In addition, an Inter-American Development Bank 2021 study found that domestic violence increased in Jamaica by 10.3 per cent since the advent of the pandemic.

Based on their findings the NCU researchers suggest that intimate partner violence has intensified since the advent of the pandemic, signalling that the home has become a battleground for women.

“Such a stark reality indicates that this public health matter requires immediate attention to mitigate further increase amid ongoing stay-at-home orders and social isolation,” the NCU survey report stated.

Further analysis of the NCU survey findings indicated that COVID-19 measures impacted 90 per cent of women experiencing domestic violence, with 58 per cent believing that the harsh economic conditions contributed to domestic violence against women in Jamaica during the pandemic.

In addition, 81 per cent of respondents expressed the view that the pandemic has affected the provision of essential services for victims; 71 per cent of victims did not report domestic violence to the police; and 23 per cent of the respondents agreed that the pandemic affected their relationship with their sexual partners, according to the survey findings.

The researchers reported that the majority of victims suffer mainly from physical violence (20.9 per cent), with emotional violence (11.2 per cent) being the second highest and sexual violence (3.2 per cent) the least.

“This research revealed that perpetrators of domestic violence are significantly intimate partners — boyfriends (98.0 per cent), and husbands (89.7 per cent) compared to family members (79.3 per cent).

“The social conflict theory supports the results of this study as perpetrators abuse their partners because of the desire for control over their partner due to unequal distribution of resources,” the researchers stated.

Additionally, the majority of participants indicated that their perpetrator had been exposed to domestic violence as a child (27 per cent) along with external factors such as smoking, which was the highest at 15.4 per cent and alcohol, the second highest at 9.6 per cent.

With these findings and the recent publicised incidents of violence against women, the NCU researchers said it was imperative for the Jamaican Government to immediately institute safety measures for female victims of domestic violence. One suggested step is to ensure and support the completion of the domestic violence intervention centres the Jamaica Defence Force is committed to establishing throughout the island. Long-term efforts through strategic, collaborative, and innovative approaches are also essential in mitigating the rising occurrences of violence toward women. One such effort may be establishing a system where women feel safe to report their abuse or their witness of abuse, thus impacting reporting accuracy, the NCU survey report recommended.

The NCU research team consisted of members from across several academic departments. The lead researcher was Paul Andrew Bourne, acting director of institutional research at NCU.