Deepa Bhookhun
6 December 2007
Port Louis — Sandhya Bappoo died in 2004 although she had been granted a protection order. Parliament voted an amendment to the Protection from Domestic Violence Act on Tuesday to ensure better enforcement of a protection order.
Despite her Protection Order, Sandhya Bappoo's husband managed to "teach her a lesson".
Among the amendments, is one that stands out; Parliament has deemed it necessary to insert in a legislation, a section where the police officer is told that, when he comes across a man - or a woman for that matter - who is violating a Protection Order (PO) issued by a court of law, he must act "with due diligence." In other words, he should feel free to arrest the person, take a wounded person to hospital or do any such act as required.
MP Shakeel Mohamed understandably finds this "shocking." He posed a very pertinent question in Parliament on Tuesday: "Doesn't the police officer have a brain? Does he not have logic? Do we, members of Parliament have to legislate to tell him that he has to do his job?"
Does the police officer not do his job then? MP Mohamed thinks not. Paul Bérenger, leader of the opposition, goes even further; he reckons police officers' attitude is one of the main reasons why the fight against domestic violence has not been successful. "We know how a lot of battered women are treated by the police. It's tragic. Over and above the violence at the hands of their spouses, they have to suffer humiliation at the hands of police officers." Bérenger thinks there is an urgent need for police officers to change "their mindset" and go for further training.
Shakeel Mohamed agrees: "I have seen them react to battered women." And he says - with insulting sarcasm - that he hopes "they can read and understand the amendment and that they will put it in practice" but he adds that he doesn't think this is likely to happen.
This "superfluous" amendment, as MP Mohamed calls it, was added to the initial amendments that the minister for Women, Indranee Seebun, introduced in Parliament a few weeks ago. The amendments caused disagreements among members of the parliamentary opposition and minister Seebun then proceeded to organise a "brainstorming" with majority members, the opposition, representatives of NGOs and other stakeholders.
Out of this brainstorming, came out a few other amendments "longer than the initial amendments", notes Paul Bérenger, perversely happy with the way things had turned out. He didn't miss the chance to tell government members: "We have reacted positively when you came looking for our help. We could have been as arrogant as you usually are when we offer our help and you turn us down. I hope the prime minister will take note." But the whole situation stinks of amateurishness and Paul Bérenger was careful to point it out; "Government should ensure they do their homework next time they want to come forward with an amendment."
Bérenger had another point: is the staff at the ministry of women qualified to deal with battered women?
He doesn't think so and reminds the minister that that "hotline" for battered women is "more often than not cold and people who need help often don't know where to find it".
Bérenger had another point: is
the staff of women qualified to
deal with battered women?
He does not think so and reminds
the minister that the hotline is
"more often than not cold".
Other amendments seek to make the granting of a PO faster - a magistrate will be able to grant a PO "as per regulations that the Chief justice may make" and this would help speed up the process. Also when a PO is granted, an ancillary alimony order is automatically granted - which is a good thing according to Shakeel Mohamed - because "often when a PO is granted, the woman finds herself without financial support and will often go back to her husband because she needs the money".
Government also proposed counselling instead of imprisonment in cases of domestic violence. This proposal was the one most objectionable to the opposition - the clause has now been amended to read that this might be so only with the victim's consent. Opposition leader Bérenger was still slightly unhappy with this clause - he feels a woman might feel obliged to let her husband off or there might be negative repercussions as a "punishment." But Government seems to feel that a marriage - even a bad one - should be given another chance.
Everybody agreed on one thing though - domestic violence will not stop until and unless there is proper enforcement of the law and if civil society also plays a part. "Otherwise, all we would have achieved with these amendments would have been to tell police officers to do their jobs", concluded Shakeel Mohamed.
What they said
â-è Indranee Seeburn : The minister who took it upon herself to organise the brainstorming - the result is amendments to her amendments that everybody is happy with.
â-è Nando Bodha : The MSM MP expressed concern about the automatic alimony order. "What if a man does not have the means to pay? Does he just go to prison?" he pointedly asked.
â-è Françoise Labelle : The MMM MP is "anxious" because she is not convinced that counselling would be a deterrent to domestic violence.
â-è Reza Issack : "When a woman is battered, it is a tragedy. When a man gets beaten up, it is a comedy." On a more serious tone, the former lord mayor thinks the police have a lot to answer for in this tragedy because of their insensitivity and lack of reaction.
â-è Leela Devi Dookun : The MSM MP thought government should not have been in such a hurry to amend the original act and should have taken its time to do a better job.
â-è Alan Ganoo : The MMM MP reckons that domestic violence is the manifestation of a "fundamental unease" in society.
â-è Sheila Bappoo : Social security minister thinks there is a huge need for reform in the laws because domestic violence is a complex social problem.
â-è Ariane Navarre-Marie : Government should constantly update legislation about domestic violence, says former minister for women
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 L'Express. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
