Despite the many criticisms that are meted out to the relevant bodies and the Ministry of Human Services for not doing enough to curb this phenomenon, there is little more that the authorities can do since it will be impossible for them to undo the learned behaviour of the perpetrators of domestic abuse.

I hate to sound like a pessimist but I am firmly convinced that this plague will not be erased from our society until a different pattern of socialization is adopted by the men of today, or until the next generation evolves, who hopefully will manifest the benefits of the work being done today by the Domestic Violence Policy Unit and other related bodies.

I am firmly against any kind of violence in the home and I believe both parents have a tremendous responsibility to ensure that their children are raised in an environment where they are taught that violence in any form is unacceptable.

It is a known fact that men who abuse and subsequently murder their partners have been taught that it is the acceptable way for them to prove their male dominance since this is how they were socialized in the home.

The most recent case involving the well known singer Chris Brown is proof that children live what they learn. In Brown’s case, he lived in an abusive home so it is no surprise that he displayed the tendencies of the abuser.

It takes time to unlearn certain behaviours. If a woman has been taught all her life that abuse by her partner is acceptable, there is no way that someone can change her mindset in a short while. The same goes for men who have been socialized to see women as their property to be treated as they please.

There is also the conceptualization that in certain cultures it is acceptable for men to abuse women. Hence it would be a Herculean task for the relevant bodies to correct this misconception.

The lack of education is only one of the factors that contribute to the incidence of violence, since in my opinion it all comes back to the critical issue of socialization.

It is unreasonable for us to expect changes overnight since these incidents are the manifestations of what a person has learned all his life.

We need to allow the system to work; and just as the authorities have their role to play, so too do the families of these victims and perpetrators since they are the first ones with knowledge about the abuse or witnesses to it.

The solution begins in the homes, with the families, because in many instances, family members are aware of the abuse but adopt a ‘hands off’ approach that it is not their business.
Marcia DeFreitas