Six New Domestic Violence Intervention Centres by Month-End

Six new Domestic Violence Intervention Centres (DVICs) will be operationalised through the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) across six parishes by the end of October 2021.

The parishes are St. Catherine, St. Mary, St. Ann, St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, and Westmoreland.

One of the centres, located at the Greater Portmore Police Station in St. Catherine, is already in operation.

The new facilities will add to the four existing centres at the Constant Spring and Matildas Corner police stations in St. Andrew and the Morant Bay and the Yallahs Police stations in St. Thomas.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange said that the establishment of the six new DVICs, forms part of the Government’s efforts to address gender-based violence, by strengthening the JCF’s ability to respond and provide support to victims and family members.

She was speaking at the virtual launch of the new DVICs on Thursday (October 7).

Ms. Grange said that the Ministry will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of National Security by seeking to implement a mobile response unit for islandwide response to gender-based violence, create daily crime reports across police divisions, and work with community groups.

“I have reserved a place for the JCF’s Centre Management on the Gender Advisory Council, to work with us on the implementation of the national strategic action plan to eliminate gender-based violence in Jamaica,” she added.

Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, in his remarks, said that the establishment of the additional DVICs “sends a strong signal and restores hope to victims of domestic violence”.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, informed that 175 police personnel have been trained and are currently associated with the DVICs.

“We’ve had 704 violent domestic cases referred to our existing four centres, up to September of this year. A number of these were dealt with at the station level utilising the range of specialists or staff that are available to us, and then we refer others to the Dispute Resolution Foundation, shelters, and through the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport. We also had the opportunity to form our own domestic violence policies and guidelines,” he pointed out.

The DVICs are the result of a collaboration between the European Union and the United Nations under the Spotlight Initiative, which supports concrete measures to end violence against women and girls.

The Bureau of Gender Affairs works closely with the DVICs to provide psychosocial support and counselling to victims and survivors of domestic violence.