In June 2014, Orpha Prescilla Hackett, 24, of Union Village, Rio Claro, died after being chopped about the body by a man whom she had taken out a restraining order against.
The mother of two—a four-year-old girl and a two year-old boy—had received a three-year protection/restraining order against the man in the court earlier in the day after ending an abusive relationship with him.
Hackett was attacked while visiting her sister.
The suspect was detained by people who witnessed the horrific incident and called the police who were able to retrieve the weapons used in the murder. According to reports, the man had been seen buying two knives and a cutlass before the attack.
In December 2017, Shanti Roopchand, 45, narrowly escaped death at the hands of a close male relative, for yet a second time.
The mother of three and a recovering stroke victim had taken out a protection order against the 52-year-old suspect but it was not enough to stop to stop him from trying to kill Roopchand and stabbing her 27-year-old son, Premchand, as he attempted to protect his mother. Roopchand was attacked in a similar manner just one year before.
In January 2019, a San Fernando man was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to breaching a protection order and beating his wife. The 46-year-old father of five claimed he was stressed and frustrated but his wife contended that he was angry after she got a job. Having obtained a protection order against the suspect in July 2016, the woman said she was accused of being unfaithful.
In November 2019, the lifeless body of Ramragie Gobin, 49, was found at her Ridgewood Gardens, Golconda home. She had been stabbed to death by her husband from whom she had separated. Gobin had taken out a protection order against her estranged husband.
Hours before he was due to appear before a magistrate charged with Gobin’s death, Chamanlal Gobin was found hanging in a cell at the Mon Repos Police Station.
And while Hackett, Roopchand, Gobin and thousands of women and men have gone to court in T&T to obtain protection orders against spouses and partners, the question arises: how effective is this piece of paper? Does the protection order offer the applicant any level of protection? Does it only serve to fuel the respondents' anger and spur them to deadly action?
A protection or restraining order is a court document which restrains a person from engaging in abusive behaviour of any type. It may also require the individual to stay a certain distance away from individual who obtained the oder. The protection order is obtained by making an aplication to the Clerk of the Peace of the District Magistrate Court in the area where you live.
'It has no weight, no teeth and does not prevent acts of violence'
A judicial officer, who did not want to be named, told Guardian Media, "It is only a piece of paper and it does not really protect you. The person that you have taken out the restraining order against can do you anything they want and just face the consequences after."
According to the female official, "It does not protect against domestic violence."
Sherna Alexander Benjamin of the Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals (OABI) agreed. "That is really correct. It is basically a piece of paper that has no weight, it has no teeth and it does not prevent the acts of severe violence being perpetrated against the individual who took out the restraining order."
Calling for legislative changes which would see a more inclusive and collaborative approach to domestic violence, Benjamin said it must be made a priority by the State.
Declaring domestic violence was a serious problem in T&T, she said, "The protection order in and of itself, does not protect the victim. And there are no implementation processes to monitor or to track the individual who took out the order in a way of protecting them from the perpetrator."
Benjamin said while each person is responsible for ensuring there are certain safety/security measures in place, she added, "We also have to call into account the law enforcement agencies to step up their game and implement measures, and also change or enhance existing systems in addressing violence against women."
She urged sitting administrations to stop making the issue a political one, and focus on making the country safer for both females and males.
Benjamin said the time had come for relevant discussions as we have to work with our men and boys to understand their own emotions; to understand how to reduce conflict so that it will not turn into the violent manifestations that cause harm and danger to somebody else’s life.
"Often times, the blame for domestic violence somehow shifts to the victim and is moved from the perpetrator."
Protection order requests have declined...a perception that the system is not really working
Commenting on the lack of judicial statistics, president of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Roberta Clarke said, "There is no way to know how many protection orders are granted. What we can tell from the Judiciary's Annual Report is how many applications are made. And while they will state that 70 per cent or so are disposed of, they don't say what this means."
Clarke claimed that over the last few years, protection order requests had declined from around 10,000 five years ago, down to just about 8,000.
She said there was a perception that the system itself is not really working very well which is why the Chief Justice is thinking of starting a different kind of court for domestic violence.
In an interview last week, Clarke said one in every three women in T&T suffer or will suffer from domestic violence at the hands of their partner
She said the Inter-American Development Bank recently said at any given time around the world, 10,000 women are in situations of domestic violence.
The Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals (OABI)
As the year 2019 fast approaches its’end, the Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals said it was alarmed by the increasing violence within society.
During a meeting on November 23, leader Sherna Alexander Benjamin quoted alarming statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Unit (CAPA), TTPS which indicated that during the period 2010 to 2015 there were approximately 11,441 reports relating to Domestic Violence (Intimate Partner Violence) (DV/IPV).
Of this figure, there were 131 related deaths.
In 2018, statistics from CAPA indicated that an average of 25 women were murdered every year in DV/IPV related cases.
At the end of 2017, there was a total of 52 murders of women; with 43 being DV/IPV related.
Statistics indicated that from January 2018 to November 2018, 22 DV/IPV deaths were recorded.
Some women who were robbed of not only their lives but their dreams in 2018:
1) Drupatee Sankar (hands severed; alive but critical - Jan 1, 2018);
2) Arisa Vana David (strangled; Jan 2, 2018);
3) Vanessa Ali aka Inga Scheult (shot; Jan 4, 2018);
4)*Unidentified* (mutilated and burnt; Jan 6, 2018);
5) Sarah Joseph (was reported missing on Jan 20; 2018; Was found shot on Jan 23, 2018; and her body wrapped in a sheet and dumped); and
6) Kayla Marie Solomon-Caine of Lambeau, Tobago (bludgeoned to death, Feb 2, 2018),
Claiming that 2019 statistics were not yet available, the members acknowledged they faced a formidable challenge ahead.
Aiming to expand its membership to include more youths as well as mature citizens, the OABI said it would focus on:
• Sensitisation and education at all levels;
• Recommendations for policy changes;
• More research into the problem using a multi-disciplinary perspective;
• Expansion and outreach including ‘twinning’;
• Moving into communities as part of ‘community governance’;
• Putting a voice for ‘battered women and children’ in the Senate.
BOX
What is domestic violence?
A. Includes any form of abuse whether it be mental, verbal, physical, sexual, financial, emotional or psychological, committed by a person against a spouse, child, and any other person who is a member of the household or dependant.
What is a protection/restraining order?
A. A protection or restraining order is a court document which restrains a person from engaging in abusive behaviour of any type.
Where do you go to apply for a restraining order?
A. To the Clerk of the Peace of the District Magistrate Court in which you live.
Who can apply for a protection order?
A. A Spouse; a member of the spouse’s household ie, a child; a dependant; a parent or sibling of either the spouse or respondent of that sibling or parent who is not a member of the household; a person who has a child in common with the respondent; a person who is or has been in a visiting relationship with a person of the opposite sex for a period exceeding twelve months; a police officer, a probation officer or approved social worker on behalf of an alleged victim.
What is the procedure to obtain a protection order?
A. The procedure to obtain a protection order is listed as follows:
i. The applicant goes to the court’s registry at the respective Magistrate’s Court;
ii. The applicant speaks to the Clerk of the Peace, who identifies the problem and determines whether it is a domestic violence matter or a matter for another court;
iii. Applicant pays $3.00 in cash or the value of $3.00 in stamps for filing a domestic violence complaint;
iv. The Clerk of the Peace then prepares the complaint and summons and at the same time fixes the date of hearing within seven days of filing of the application;
v. The applicant is required to sign the complaint;
vi. The applicant takes the summons to be served on respondent to the police or may be served by the applicant or his/her agent;
What information is required when applying for a protection order?
A. The parties correct name and address and a specific time of at least six months before filing when the incident/pattern of behaviour occurred.
What is the duration of a protection order?
A. A protection order remains in force for any period specified by the court, but such period shall not exceed three years.
(www.ttlawcourts.org)