ALARMING statistics presented at a public consultation on domestic violence hosted by the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs revealed a disturbing rise in domestic violence incidents, particularly assaults by beating, over recent years. The consultation took place on September 25, at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain.
From 2019 to August 2024, reported cases escalated, starting at 528 in 2019, surging to 1,380 in 2020 and slightly decreasing to 1,336 in 2021.
This upward trend continued with 1,690 cases in 2022, peaking at 2,646 in 2023, before declining to 1,227 cases in 2024 (up to August).
Legal actions revealed fluctuating charges: nine in 2019, 75 in 2020, 67 in 2021, and 45 in 2022, before dropping to 26 in 2023 and just four as of August 2024. Convictions followed a similar pattern, with two in 2019, 13 in 2020, 16 in 2021, six in 2022 and nine in 2023, while no convictions have been recorded for 2024.
Separate data from the police Crime and Analysis Branch, covering July 2022 to May 31, 2023, further illustrated the gravity of the situation, with a total of 2,429 domestic violence incidents reported across various categories, including homicide, sexual abuse and assault.
Assault and beating accounted for the majority, with 1,102 cases. Sexual abuse represented 143 incidents, while homicide remained a significant concern, with 23 victims: 15 females and eight males documented during this period.
Additional serious offences, including breaches of protection orders and malicious damage, are numbered 137 and 122, respectively.
In January 2023, 366 assault cases were recorded and July was marked by tragedy, as five homicide victims were reported, followed by several more fatalities in subsequent months.
On January 2, 2024, Calida Schamber, 43, and her mother, Carmelita DeLeon, 66, were shot and killed in their Shorelands residential community in Glencoe. Schamber's ex-husband, Tesson Bradshaw, 48, a Defence Force warrant officer, was charged with their murders.
In a separate incident on August 13, 2023, Keifer Wilson, 27, was brutally attacked with a spanner after a car collision near the Debe roundabout.
While attempting to escape with a male companion, Wilson was pursued by her attacker, who ran her down, resulting in her death. Her ex-boyfriend, Trevist Nicholas, 27, has been charged with her murder.
On May 16, Justice Robin Mohammed ruled on the case of Samantha Isaacs, a domestic violence victim who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Kahriym Garcia, on December 16, 2017.
Justice Mohammed found that Isaacs and her family's rights had been infringed due to police inaction regarding her multiple complaints about Garcia's abusive behaviour.
He stressed the state's obligation to protect victims of domestic violence, highlighting the severe danger Isaacs faced and the failure of law enforcement to adequately respond to her reports.
Isaacs had made four complaints about threats and violence, but no investigations were conducted.
He criticised both the
