Jamaica: Protection Against Gender Violence Expanded

On Tuesday, Jamaica established new provisions to expand protection against gender-based violence, a step that was welcomed by the UN because it should help prevent and combat this evil.

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The amendments introduced to the Domestic Violence Law were adopted by the Government and provide for actions such as the issuance of court orders to protect victims, the imposition of million-dollar fines and even imprisonment for perpetrators who violate such ruling.

It includes stronger sanctions against harassment and damage to the property of assaulted women, as well as policies to support survivors of abuse in terms of shelter, legal assistance and police intervention.

It also provides for increased training of law enforcement and other public officials to deal with cases appropriately.

Jamaica implemented the amendments as part of its drive to stop the spiraling violence in its territory.

Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of the United Nations HIV/AIDS program (UNAIDS), welcomed the initiative, hoped it would generate good results and described it as essential to solve a worrying problem in the Caribbean nation, the rest of the Caribbean, Latin America and the world.

She emphasized that the survivors of this scourge "must be heard and justice must come", highlighting the importance of regulations to break the cycle of violence, abuse and inequity, and to guarantee the human rights of women and girls.

The regional director of Unaids for Latin America and the Caribbean, Luisa Cabal, made a similar statement, calling attention to the role that the courts, the police, civil society and all law enforcement institutions must play in the future to enforce the amendments.