President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Women’s Movement, Patricia Duncan Sutherland, is calling on the Government to be more proactive with its social intervention efforts amid recent attacks on women that have shaken the nation.

Duncan Sutherland shared that domestic-related violence is a main characteristic of murders in Jamaica. She said she is saddened and deeply concerned about the level of violence in Jamaica, particularly on women and children, and accused the Government of becoming complacent in its response.

“Our Government continues as if it is business as usual. It cannot be a normal thing. We have to make it abnormal, and so it is not good enough the response of our Governments,” said Duncan Sutherland.

She noted that the third Supplementary Budget was recently tabled in Parliament, and there were no funds set aside for Project STAR, a social intervention programme for Jamaicans. Additionally, she said there was no increased budget for any social intervention programme, despite multiple reports of violent attacks.

“It makes me wonder, are we serious? Do we see the role of Government in being a part of the solution? Instead of putting an army of soldiers on the ground to suppress people, they should put an army of social workers on the ground to help people to resolve their issues, [and] help men and women to work it out, so we have [fewer] victims of domestic violence,” PNPWM leader argued.

More domestic violence centres needed

She also called for an increase in the number of domestic violence centres islandwide, as well as easier and safer methods to report acts of domestic violence.

“The problem for a woman who is a survivor of domestic violence is that they go to the police station, they have to make the report, then they have to go home, then they have to come back to the police station, pick up a report, then they have to wait on a court date to get a restraining order, and they have to go home. There is no offer of protection. I think we can do a little more to make it a one-stop shop, so when a woman goes to report, they are assured protection,” said Duncan Sutherland.

According to police reports, two women were among four killed in Trelawny yesterday. In a separate incident, three women were among four people killed in Crawl, Riversdale in St Catherine on September 26.

As of September 30, there were 1,179 murders recorded, an 11 per cent decline compared to the similar period last year.