Howard Campbell, Gleaner WriterThe sensational courtroom episode involving former Spanish Town Mayor, Raymoth Notice, and his wife Verna, once again thrust the troubling issue of domestic violence into the spotlight.
On June 15, Dr. Notice was arrested by the police after his wife, Verna, reported that he had assaulted her. He appeared in the Linstead Resident Magistrate's Court where he answered five counts of assault. The charges were eventually dropped.
Given Dr. Notice's national profile, the incident got top billing in the media. But Loreen I. MacFarlane, a counsellor for the last five years at the Woman Inc.'s Crisis Centre in Kingston, told The Sunday Gleaner that spousal abuse is rife in Jamaica.
"It's extremely common in our society and it's across the board (all social groups). We are
learning more about it because more people are coming forward and reporting it and not sweeping it under the carpet," she said.
a significant drop
According to Ms. MacFarlane, the Crisis Centre dealt with 625 cases of spousal abuse in 2004, a slight decline from 2003 when there were 698 reports. The last two years represent a significant drop in reported cases as from 1998 to 2002, the figure topped the 1,000 mark with 1998 (1,443) seeing the most cases.
"One of the things this shows is that people are not handling relationships well," said Ms. MacFarlane. "If not dealt with, it not only affects the abused person but the children and before you know it, you end up with a dysfunctional family." She pointed out that the vast majority of abused persons were women who sought counselling at the Crisis Centre after consulting with a close relative, their doctor or pastors.
"A lot of them took time before coming because there's a sense of shame connected with abuse but more and more, we see them coming because they realise that they are not alone," she explained.
She is quick to state that the Crisis Centre does not advise or encourage victims on matters dealing in separation or divorce. Rather, it offers alternatives such as taking legal action. Depending on the complainant's case, abusers can be given a light prison sentence or ordered to pay a fine.
Some women stay in a relationship despite years of physical and verbal abuse. Ms. MacFarlane says some of the reasons they do is because of the following:
(a) Dependence on the man.
(b) For the children's sake.
(c) Stuck in the relationship.
(d) Intimidated by their partner.
Ms. MacFarlane notes that the women who seek counselling at the Crisis Centre transcend the stereotypical ghetto 'babymother' who is constantly battered by her frustrated, unemployed common-law husband. The independent career woman is also a victim.
