Clare’s Law

Sometimes I sit with my wife, curled up on our sofa looking at Netflix movies. Hugging or just resting our hands on each other brings us into a zone of utter peace and love. Those alone moments help build relationships. Loving hugs and gentle strokes releases oxytocin, the feel-good hormone. I am fortunate to have been getting small doses of this from my wife Sherene for the past 41 years.

Unfortunately, many couples are not so privileged. Their lives are filled with constant stress, violence and abuse. This can cause an increase in their cortisol and adrenaline hormones, leaving them in a perpetual state of fight, flight or freeze.

Many victims of domestic violence (DV) know the feeling and regrettably, some end up as victims of homicide, the final stage of the DV spectrum.

The slaughtering of women by someone they once loved is a tragedy of love.

Between January and August, there were more than 1,227 cases of domestic violence. There have been 28 domestic murders for the year. Last week, of the seven females attacked, four were killed.

Twenty-three days ago, Guardian Media’s Kevon Felmine reported that Coalition Against Domestic Violence manager Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh said numerous reports on domestic and gender-based violence have been submitted to the State and while there is a wealth of documentation outlining what needs to be done, the real challenge lies in applying the necessary human and financial resources to implement those recommendations. She said proper training for protective and social service agencies is also essential.

This is why I saw the domestic violence consultation held by the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Legal Affairs at the Hyatt Regency recently, more as an expensive exercise in public relations whilst the much-needed actualisation of existing plans remains unmet.

Whilst no government agency can see what goes on behind closed doors, we need to have an emergency plan to kick in whenever we are aware of any cases of DV.

Sometimes, we may need to rescue women from themselves, as some fall into the trap of the cycle of abuse and are pulled back into the honeymoon phase when the perpetrator begs for forgiveness, while others may develop psychological factors making them incapable of tearing themselves away from their abuser.

To assist in encouraging some to leave, I suggest we can amend the law to allow persons to know of a perpetrator’s past violent history, as was done in the UK.

The UK’s Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), also known as “Clare’s Law,” enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse about their partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending history.

Clare Wood, 36, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend on February 2, 2009. She had made numerous disclosures to the police prior to her death on his attempted rape and harassment.

After her death, it was revealed he had an extensive criminal background with previous offences of domestic abuse and had been imprisoned on two separate occasions.

After her death, Clare’s father pushed for the introduction of the DVDS, which was introduced as a guideline for police across the UK in 2014.

This enables victims, potential victims or relevant third parties to find out about the partner’s criminal history or abusive past if they have reason to believe a risk exists.

The fact that legislation can be hurriedly brought to Parliament to make the steelpan the national instrument and soon, to change our Coat of Arms, surely means we can bring immediate legislation which can save lives.

Women need to be reminded about the danger signs which can be seen in potential killers.

We should also institute a system that whenever a report is made to the police, a danger risk assessment on the abuser is made. Someone deemed a high-risk perpetrator should be given a GPS bracelet which can be rented as a condition of bail.

We also need to train women how to defend themselves and our first female CoP encouraged to fast-track FUL applications for those mentally fit. NGOs can assist in the purchase of firearms or State-seized guns offered at a reduced price, instead of being disposed of.

We need to give our daughters a fighting chance to defend themselves.

Our headlines seem to suggest we are living in the worst of times and this can sometimes daunt me when witnessing the repeated killings.

The time spent with my wife is certainly the best of times. Those who experience their zone of love, would attest that it certainly helps to deal with this harsh and crazy world.

The post Clare’s Law first appeared on CNC3.