JFJ wants domestic violence law review to pick up pace

Executive director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) Mickel Jackson says Jamaica’s legislature is suffering from “legislative inertia” and an inability to prioritise the crafting of laws that will bring about real change.

While applauding Senator Professor Floyd Morris for piloting a private member’s motion on a proposed elderly bill that recently received bipartisan support in the Senate, Jackson said there are other critical laws that have been awaiting amendments or development for some time now.

In October 2024, lawmakers in the Upper House debated and approved a motion calling for legislation to be crafted to protect senior citizens in the country.

The JFJ head cited the slow pace at which a joint select committee established to review the Domestic Violence law was carrying out its task.

The committee met twice in early 2024 and committed to review the parent law “with alacrity”, but some eight months later at least one civil society group says it has not been invited to appear before the committee after making its written submission in May 2024.

“Neither JFJ nor one single NGO that I’m aware of have been invited to make presentations before the committee following our written submissions since May. When we wrote to the Parliament in September, we were told ‘there are no scheduled meetings at this time’,” Jackson told The Gleaner recently.

Tackle the scourge

She noted that in 2023 the Parliament amended the Domestic Violence Act but some stakeholders warned at the time that the changes did not go far enough to tackle the scourge in Jamaica.

The 2023 amendments to the Domestic Violence Act allow the court to issue protection orders and impose a penalty of up to $1 million and a sentence of up to one year in prison if the order is breached. The previous fine was $10,000.

The protection orders are aimed at guarding against an array of potential harms from harassment to property damage.

While welcoming the 2023 amendments, Jackson said her organisation warned that the changes by themselves would offer little to victims and that the parent law needed a comprehensive review.

“For example, the definition of domestic violence remains unchanged so it also affects who can be protected and types of support a victim can receive. We are heartened that in at least two matters represented by JFJ in 2024, the judge issued a protection order for two women who were psychologically abused. However, the absence of a definition which includes psychological and financial abuse means that not enough victims are being protected,” Jackson said.

Further, she said without expressed provision that allows for compensation orders, the judges’ hands are tied in the amount they can order, given the limited threshold of fines that can be imposed at the parish court levels.

“If our leaders are serious about tackling gender-based and domestic violence, they would move from words to action,” she added.

Commenting on the proposed Enhanced Security Measures Act (ESMA), which has been in gestation since 2022, Jackson said while she has concerns about potential lengthy detentions without trial under an ESMA, the Government owes the people a tabled bill on which there can be rigorous debate.

In announcing the proposed ESMA in 2022, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said the special legislation would be brought to Parliament shortly.

“So, an announcement was made about the legislative intent then a statement made about possible constitutional concerns but the point is nothing official from the Office of the Prime Minister who made this promise to the country,” Jackson noted.

“The bigger issue for me, when these bills are promised to the people of Jamaica, not only on platforms, but officially through the Throne Speech, how can we take parliamentarians seriously?”

editorial@gleanerjm.com