Judiciary introduces virtual hearing/interview rooms for Domestic Violence court cases

Jul 14, 2021 News

– dealt with over 5,000 DV cases last year

Kaieteur News – The Supreme Court of Judicature yesterday opened two new virtual hearing and interview rooms at the Wales and Leonora Magistrate’s Courts, West Demerara, to facilitate the hearing of Domestic Violence (DV) cases in a more suitable setting.

One of the DV rooms commissioned.

Addressing the virtual gathering at the opening of the new DV rooms, Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards, noted an increase in DV related matters that passed through the court system for the period 2019-2020. According to the Chancellor 5,758 domestic violence matters were dealt with by the court within that year.
She noted that the increased tension in the household during the lockdown had resulted in a rise in DV related cases.
The Chancellor noted too that though strained by the pandemic, the judiciary did not curtail access to legal services for persons affected by domestic violence. Cummings-Edwards said the matters were stipulated as the cases needed to be prioritised as urgent owing to a rise in cases of this nature during the pandemic.
Justice Cummings-Edwards stressed that since the prevalence of domestic violence in Guyana is indeed undeniable and transcends all race, social and economic lines, it is pertinent for the Court to establish facilities to assist in adequately dealing with such matters.
“What we would have found over the years is that many persons, whether you call them victims or survivors of domestic violence, they are hesitant to speak up, they are hesitant to come forward and report the crime,” she said.
The Judge noted further that due to the fear of being stigmatised or ridiculed, there is need for facilities where victims can be interview and heard in comfort and privacy away from the perpetrator.
As such, she said that the Supreme Court teamed up with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the construction of the interview and virtual hearing rooms at the Leonora and Wales Magistrates’ Courts in West Demerara.

According to UNICEF Representative, Nicolas Pron, the agency was working with the Ministry of Human Services in areas of policy and legal reform on domestic violence and sexual offences matters.
Pron expressed hope that the interview rooms would give survivors greater confidence in the work of the justice system.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police (Ag), Nigel Hoppie, welcomed the facilities, since the DV rooms, in his view will allow law enforcement agents to better carry out their jobs.
“It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I note that this provision of a conducive atmosphere for effectively dealing with domestic violence by the legal system is today being taken a step further,” the Police Commissioner said adding that the divisions now have domestic violence units with special rooms at police stations where reports are made and follow-up action is taken without any inconvenience.
Hoppie noted too that in recent times, the Force has been securing an average of just over 20 percent convictions for domestic violence cases.
Hoppie disclosed that in 2019 there were 1,499 reports of domestic violence out of which there were 918 cases and 261 convictions. He noted too that the police received 1,672 reports, 893 cases and 112 convictions in 2020.
So far, he said that as up to June 2021 there have been 896 reports, 439 cases and 104 convictions. For the corresponding period last year, there were 733 reports from which there were 370 cases and 85 convictions.