Garth Rattray | Appalling alleged torture at UWI Mona

When the alleged case of a 19-year-old, first-year female University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus student was made public, everyone was appalled. Allegations are that a 20-year-old male accused her of being unfaithful to him, locked her inside his room and tortured her with a hot clothing iron and other “stuff” for three days before she was eventually found and rescued, late one evening, by campus police acting on information they received.

Campus registrar, Donovan Stanberry, pointed out, in an interview, that there has been an increase in intimate partner violence on the UWI Mona campus. He alluded to the general [national] trend of increased violence at various educational institutions since COVID-19. He also remarked that, “Whatever happens in the wider society, it’s not surprising that they are also manifested at the campus … we are concerned because, like with the high schools, and so on, since COVID-19, we have had increased incidents and we have to be very vigilant.”

The campus registrar cited a statement made last year by Zavia Mayne, minister of state in the Ministry of National Security, that there has been an almost, “100-per-cent increase in the number of Jamaicans who reported experiencing domestic abuse or violence over the last five years”. Shockingly, in July 2022, a Caribbean Policy Research Institute report stated that about 28 per cent of Jamaican women experienced direct gender-based violence during their lifetime. And, seven per cent of respondents were abused by their significant other within 12 months before they were surveyed.

INTERNATIONAL SCOURGE

Domestic violence is an international scourge; it requires months of seminars to cover it adequately. Researchers around the globe list the main contributors as mental problems (including sociopathic tendencies, narcissism, severe depression, untreated psychosis, sadism); poverty and unemployment (the stressors in any household); deficient education (and the attendant problems of joblessness and poor income); youths (with its inexperience, impulsiveness, and lack of resources); relationship retention behaviour (the use of violence to scare one’s mate into remaining in the relationship); historical factors (concerning the inequality of women); cultural factors (differences in cultures and the unwillingness to respect, or relent or adapt or accept the other); self-defence (speaks for itself); alcoholism (and other drug use); and last, but by no means least, a suspicion of infidelity (colloquially known as ‘getting bun’).

The topic of infidelity is a particularly painful one. Men and women react differently to ‘getting bun’. Many Jamaican women believe that men will stray, but they should protect themselves from becoming infected, protect themselves financially, and also emotionally. And, they must never allow their flings to interfere with their family life in any way. Most Jamaican men want to believe that their lady will not stray, even though they know that many other women are straying, perhaps with them or with their friends.

A woman feels hurt and disrespected when her spouse strays because of the risk of disease, and because her man has shared time and money and something that she deems special (their physical intimacy) with another woman. Men are hurt because they know that their lady had to ‘open up’ herself physically and emotionally to another man. She surrendered herself to another man or was vanquished by him. He knows that, as far as intimacy is concerned, for him it may be only a meaningless physical act, but for women, intimacy has a significant emotional component. He no longer holds a special (emotional) place in her life, and therefore feels hurt and disrespected on multiple levels.

HORRIFIC

The violence resulting from domestic disputes, and perhaps from ‘getting bun’, or from the mere suspicion of ‘getting bun’ is unpredictable and can be incredibly horrific. A long time ago, I encountered a female patient with a deeply penetrating knife wound to her left chest. She refused to report her assailant because she loved him.

I also know of a patient who was shot in the abdomen, at close range, by her enraged husband; the bullet destroyed her left kidney, part of her colon and damaged the nerves that went to her left lower limb. She lied to the investigators and told them that it was an accidental firearm discharge. I also know of two other women who were shot at by their significant other and father of their children. Luckily, they missed! None of them reported the incidents.

Through the years, I have seen women from all social classes who were physically and emotionally abused by their ‘upstanding’ husbands. Although their physical scars may heal, they remain emotionally scarred for life. The reported cases of domestic abuse/violence in Jamaica have almost doubled over the past five years. Violence appears to be the chosen solution for disputes in homes, communities, schools, the workplace and in society in general.

Sharon Robinson, principal director, Bureau of Gender Affairs, recently spoke to the National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-based Violence in Jamaica 2017-2027. She highlighted our domestic violence intervention centres present in select parishes.

Domestic partners should never isolate, or allow anyone to isolate them from family members and friends. Share with the people who care about you, but eschew those who encourage violence. Seek formal help if necessary … this includes involving the police.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.