Africa-Press – Mauritius. ‘The new Protection from Domestic Violence Act (PDVA), will bring about significant changes to reinforce the protection of victims, enlarge the roles of law enforcement officers, and most importantly, which is a first for Mauritius, introduce an Intervention Order which will make perpetrators of domestic violence go for rehabilitation.
Moreover, we are also trying to make provisions for electronic bracelets for those offenders against whom applicants have obtained Protection Orders’.
This was announced, today, by the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, at the opening of a consultative workshop on the review of the PDVA. The one-day event is being held at La Cannelle, in Domaine les Pailles.
The Deputy Head of Delegation and Head of Political Section, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to the Republic of Mauritius, Ms Manuela Riccio, and other personalities were present during the opening ceremony.
The PDVA was enacted in 1997 with the aim to protect spouses from acts of domestic violence. The PDVA was subsequently amended in 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2016. This Act was amended each time so as to bring in improvements to the changes made with respect to domestic violence.
The current consultations are being facilitated by two Principal State Counsels who are from the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Some 40 participants are attending the workshop and are from the following institutions: the Prime Minister’s Office, the Judiciary, the Police, the Law Reform Commission, the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, the Probation and Aftercare Service, and NGOs managing shelters for victims of domestic violence.
In her address, Minister Koonjoo-Shah spoke about the dire consequences of domestic violence on the victim, the victim’s children, the family, the neighbourhood, the society and the economy.
The impact of domestic violence on the economy, through the cost of health services, social services, legal support and justice system can be calculated and measured, but the human and emotional cost of domestic violence cannot be calculated, she emphasised.
‘It is our duty as governmental and non-governmental organisations to rid our society with this phenomenon’, she pointed out.
In addition, the Minister recalled that domestic violence is a criminal behaviour, and requires action by the justice system and domestic violence cases have to be handled in a professional manner, with the utmost sensitivity and treated very seriously.
She also highlighted the importance to track societal norms and understandings about domestic violence and ensure the appropriate information, support and services are available, to both women and men experiencing domestic violence. Speaking about previous amendments brought to the Act, Mrs Koonjoo-Shah observed that while implementing the PDVA, several lacunae were identified.
Therefore, it is necessary for the present consultative workshop to come up with concrete proposals for making the PDVA a stronger protective framework for victims while making perpetrators accountable for their actions, she underscored.
As regards electronic bracelets, she further indicated that research has shown that there were significant drops in the incidence of domestic violence with the use of this type of electronic monitoring.
In Australia, she remarked, there were 70% reduction in cases of assaults, 89% in cases of threats and 100% in cases of stalking. For her part, Ms Riccio, reiterated the support of the EU to the Government in tackling the issue of domestic violence.
The EU has been able to mobilise technical assistance and information exchange instruments to support the Ministry and this is a concrete result of the EU’s dedicated policy dialogue on gender to back the Ministry in fighting violence against women and girls, which is a violation of human rights, and in promoting their empowerment, she added.
