The bones of a woman believed to be those of Cristeen Gopaul, aged 39, were found in September.
Shivana Lal, writing on the issue in the media, reported that “Gopaul was last seen at Ice Breakers Bar and Lounge, Penal, on February 17, with a male friend.
Her last communication with family members was on March 15 when she shared that she was in trouble and appealed for help.
The family conducted searches, but were unsuccessful in locating her. Following reports that Gopaul was not alive, the family filed a missing person report at the Siparia Police Station on September 3.
This is a national tragedy that ought to invoke reflection and a call for change; however, with so many women being killed at the hands of their intimate partners, Cristeen Gopaul’s name will soon disappear from the newspapers to be replaced by the next horrific incident.
We must ask ourselves: what can be done to cure our society of its sickness?
However, as the national budget approaches, it begs another question: how do we justify increased expenditure on the solutions for gender-based violence: women’s shelters, outreach programmes and better training for the TTPS?
While I have in the past written to appeal to emotion and compassion on the issue of femicide and gender-based violence, today I will approach the issue from a policy and economic perspective.
In a paper by Dr Randy Seepersad, it was noted that between 1995 and 2013 there were 442 domestic violence-related murders in our country.
Annually, there are over 2000 reports of domestic violence to the TTPS in any given year.
The human suffering caused by these murders and domestic violence incidents has a direct impact on families, communities and the nation at large.
In the paper The Cost of Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence: An Economic Perspective with Implications for Trinidad and Tobago by K Theodore, C Laptiste et al, the financial cost of domestic violence to the T&T economy was estimated as follows:
“The (cost) burden of sexual abuse and domestic violence in 2005 was estimated at TT$487.7 million or 0.51 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).”
Assuming the 0.51 per cent figure from 2005 remains true today, the approximate cost of domestic violence to the economy in 2026 would be roughly $930.8 million.
Toxic and abusive relationships are a drain on the economy as the productivity of employees is impacted, and the public health system’s resources are used when there are injuries arising from domestic violence.
There is also the opportunity cost to the victim in a toxic relationship; instead of advancing their education, business or career, they may end up hospitalised and spend years dealing with their trauma from the abuse.
We will never know how many books or businesses were destroyed by our nation’s scourge of domestic violence because it is impossible to quantify lost potential and lost dreams.
As a lawyer with over 12 years’ experience, I know the great difficulty in obtaining protection orders and prosecuting the breach of a protection order before the court.
In my opinion, more needs to be done to help persons with their mental health and in cultivating relationships as a form of preventing domestic violence.
There is abundant data to prove that high-quality marriages and high marriage rates are correlated with increased economic output.
In the Forbes article “Why Marriage Is Good Economics “ written by Aparna Mathur, it was stated:
“Higher levels of marriage are strongly correlated with higher state GDP per capita, greater levels of upward economic mobility, lower levels of child poverty, and higher median family incomes.”
The stability of a marriage helps asset accumulation as incomes are pooled to buy property and invest in business.
As household income rises, consumer spending also rises, causing a net benefit to the national economy.
In my experience dealing with domestic violence cases, the abuser often seems to have undiagnosed mental health issues that may need medication.
Some victims of domestic violence, especially those experiencing verbal and emotional abuse, are not aware that the regular threats, obscene language and shouting perpetrated by their partner constitute domestic violence.
Targeted programmes to deal with the root causes of domestic violence and simultaneously to educate persons on fostering healthy interpersonal relationships need to be tabled by both the government and private sector.
Abuse is so ingrained in T&T culture and politics that many see nothing wrong with abuse that falls short of bodily injury.
The rough language in our Parliament occurs because the population mistakes aggression as “strength” and “leadership,” and politicians are selected based on these qualities instead of intellect and humility.
Solving the issue of domestic violence and helping citizens become healthy partners fit for marriage would involve a complex multi-factorial programme that targets the root causes of these issues.
However, given the measurable cost of domestic violence to the economy, and the strong benefits healthy marriages bring to the economy, an allocation in the national budget can be justified with the expectation of GDP growth if the programmes funded are successful.
