KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is urging people who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV) to consider getting legal support in order to claim their rights and access justice.

GBV is a human rights violation and people, including men, who experience violence, face discrimination and indignity, JFJ asserted.

As the world prepares to observe the annual 16 Days of Activism against GBV, which runs from  November 25 to December 10, Under the theme, “Orange the World: #HearMeToo”, JFJ stands with other organisations globally fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable and underserved, a JFJ release said.

JFJ added that through its Justice for Persons Experiencing GBV Initiative, launched in 2020, they have helped scores of people, primarily women, to access justice. To date, the organisation has been approached with a vast array of GBV-related cases with people seeking help with Protection and Occupation Orders while needing redress for correlated matters such as child custody, maintenance and divorce.

 “In Jamaica, GBV remains widespread and prevalent across different socioeconomic groups. Recent data suggests that approximately 28 per cent of Jamaican women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime,” said JFJ Executive Director, Mickel Jackson.

“At JFJ, while we provide avenues for legal recourse for people who have experienced GBV, we continue to conduct legal literacy sessions in several communities so that people are not only aware of their rights, but are also encouraged to make reports when they see rights of others being violated,” added Jackson.

The release further called for the Government of Jamaica to do its part and provide better governance and legal protection to deal with GBV.

“JFJ acknowledges that the recently passed Sexual Harassment Bill is a step in the right direction, but notes that it is simply not enough to address the significant legislative gaps to respond to GBV,” it said.

JFJ stated that the current Domestic Violence Act has a plethora of limitations including:

• No clear definition of what amounts to domestic violence in Jamaica;

• The Act does not itemise a wide range of specifications to define the scope of a Protection Order;

• The duties and powers of the police under the legislation is not clearly defined, enabling law enforcement officials to provide an appropriate response to GBV victims; and

• The punishment specified for the violation of a Protection Order is a small fine ($10,000) or a short term of imprisonment. Neither of which is serious enough to act as a deterrent.

Along with bolstering the legislation, JFJ also called for Protection Orders issued by the court to be introduced as a material fact, as this could assist people who have experienced violence in their legal matters such as child custody, maintenance and dissolution of property.

“Gender-based violence has not gone away during the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact it has been exacerbated by the current health crisis,” said legal officer at JFJ, Karlene McCallum.

“Although GBV is not a new issue, the pandemic has brought a new level of attention and urgency to the need to invest in prevention and in support and services for victims and survivors. We’ve been seeing an uptick in the number of women reaching out for support from our organisation in this regard,” she added.