Dry-weather house and the scourge of domestic violence

Peta-Anne Baker, Contributor

Dry weather house

Never worth a cent

Man I shouldn't pay

So much fi mi rent.

I am sure that I am not the only one who, when the feeling of being under siege becomes overwhelming, has reached for our 'folk' culture and language to give expression to the depth and complexity of our feelings. The week just ended has been one of those occasions, and the refrain from the above mento classic popped into my head.

Among other things, the 'rain event' that took place caused a virtually invisible topic to completely disappear from the radar, and another, which would have at least attracted some scandalised comment, to be similarly ignored. But now, I, too, am talking in parables, so let me explain.

Jamaican dancehall icon, Bounty Killer, once again spent time in police custody as a result of an altercation with a female companion, on whom it is alleged, he culminated his assault by an attack with a hammer. It was only a few months ago that another female companion experienced the bounty of the Killer's 'anger management' problem. Then we heard that he had found Jesus and had been welcomed into his mother's and the Church's arms. This latest incident suggests that his conversion was as solid as our dry-weather house.

Why ask why she stays?

Whenever we hear about a woman being physically or otherwise abused by a partner, we ask, why does she stay? We rarely ask (in the same incredulous and somewhat condemnatory tone) why did he do it? How is it that we can rationalise male violence, including violence against women, previous exposure to violence, restricted opportunity, 'male marginalisation', so that this behaviour is seen as regrettable, but in some way, rational, but we refuse to explore the factors that could cause a woman to remain in an abusive relationship?

Intimate-partner violence is yet another field in which too many of us demonstrate our resistance to information and knowledge. There is a large body of research which describes the complex interplay between gender socialisation (how we come to understand what it is to be a woman or a man), opportunity structures, personality and emotion. For example, unbelievable as it may seem, there are still many not only 'poor' but well-educated and relatively well-off women who will seek to identify in their own behaviour the source of the physical or emotional abuse to which they are subjected.

In addition, despite the emergence of open calculation ("What can he do for me?") among women entering into intimate relationships, which many people take as a sign of women's increased independence, we ignore the fact that this means that women still believe that their best route to security and status is through an attachment to a prominent (business/dancehall/don) man. Truth be told, the small number of women who successfully negotiate parity or achieve dominance in their relationships with men are looked at with awe, but accorded only limited respect.

The existence of support systems is an important consideration when contemplating the action to be taken in domestic-violence cases. I know of only two shelters for survivors of domestic violence, both on the verge of closure. Getting a woman who is being abused to the stage of going into a shelter is a lengthy and often frustrating process for those who want to help. It is still a reality that when a woman leaves a relationship, even if she is employed, her standard of living will decline at least in the short to medium term. For many women, it will decline permanently. Women know this.

A woman also knows that it is she who will be the subject of the gossip, not the man; that it is her social standing that will most likely be undermined, not the man's. I have a male colleague who encourages women to put the man out and get a restraining order. Why should the woman experience the disruption and disadvantage when she is not the offender? But that is a tall order in a society in which, despite the advances that women have made, male privilege is still widespread.

Legal reform - another dry-weather house?

The new Offences against the Person Act, which, apparently, is still awaiting the signature of the governor general, provides additional support to the already existing provision for the authorities to pursue charges of assault in domestic-violence cases, even when the victims of abuse decline to press charges. Regrettably, whereas other types of assault cases are tried in the Supreme Court, and can give rise to substantial penalties, including life imprisonment, domestic-violence matters, although recognised as a form of assault, are consigned to the Resident Magistrate's Courts where the penalties that can be imposed are far less.

It is, however, good news to learn that the authorities are contemplating taking action in this latest incident involving the "Warlord". In this context, the victim can be subpoenaed to testify. It remains to be seen whether she will, or whether she is willing to be found in contempt of court, i.e. face prison (ironic, isn't it?) for refusing to do so. It remains to be seen whether friends and neighbours will support and if necessary, protect her, or whether they will stand aside, leaving her exposed to the glare of the cameras and potential threats to her life.

To the best of my knowledge, domestic-violence victims are not covered by the witness-protection programme, and there is still a regrettable tendency on the part of the police to respond slowly to calls involving domestic violence.

Recent events in Florida, where a Jamaican woman and her children were murdered by her former partner, should alert us to the fact that while there has been progress in the law, (victims of intimate-partner violence have access to Protection Orders in Jamaica as well as in the United States), the ultimate defence and best escape route is provided by that so-called informal support system.

Our churches continue to be culpable as in their perceived defence of the sanctity of marriage they often effectively conspire to keep persons in abusive relationships by focusing much of their counselling on the restoration of relationships that are patently toxic. Perhaps they need to pay as much attention to the need for demonstrable acts of contrition and repentance on the part of the offender as much as they call for forgiveness on the part of the victim.

An old man's dry-weather house

While I join with all those who mourn, especially the young lives lost this past week, I wonder how many will truly consider the death of the apparently homeless elderly man found under a culvert in Meadowbrook? Had the culvert been his dry-weather house, or did it simply become his final resting place? The Kingston and St Andrew Corporation and the public-health authorities will see to his interment, and few, if any, tears will be shed for him, even if he has living relatives.

This nameless old man's death comes in the week in which we were also supposed to be honouring our senior citizens. Even among the middle classes, the ability to afford appropriate housing is just one of the many challenges older persons face. Many older persons, here and elsewhere, can be regarded as "asset rich, but cash poor". They often occupy the spacious, but now empty, homes they acquired to raise their families. The children have moved on to homes of their own, or a partner may have died or be in need of more care than an ageing spouse can provide. But banks do not lend money to people on fixed incomes, not even to convert homes into sources of rental (and interest) income and more manageable accommodation.

For the less well-off, and especially for elderly men, alienated from family because of an overemphasis on their socially constructed 'provider' or physically present, but emotionally absent, or abusive 'Don Gorgon' roles, a bus shelter or a culvert is the place that gets called home.

Very few of these issues get raised in the public discourse about ageing and the elderly in Jamaica. Our equivalent of the National Council on Ageing (which is what it should be called rather than the current unwieldy attempt at political correctness), is another example of being given basket to carry water. The small staff - one organiser per parish - can do little more than focus on servicing senior citizens groups. In any event, when an agency like HelpAge works with seniors to address the larger policy issues such as their access to PATH, policymakers have paid them scant regard.

So, what is to be done? Suffice it to say: "Fyah deh a muss-muss tail, im tink a cool breeze."

Peta-Anne Baker is the coordinator of the Social Work Programme at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Contact her at pab.ja2009@gmail.com or send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.