Dominica: Information on police willingness and ability to protect women and children from abuse
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | DMA17103.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Dominica: Information on police willingness and ability to protect women and children from abuse, 1 April 1994, DMA17103.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac0f40.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In addition to the information provided in the United States Department of State Country Reports 1993, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, the information that follows was provided by a staff member of the Women's Desk of Dominica, a government-sponsored office that links the various women's groups of the country (18 Apr. 1994).
Documents assessing the willingness and ability of police to protect women and children from abuse could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
According to the Women's Desk, Dominica has legislation that punishes abuse against women and children. The main mechanisms available to protect women and children are court action, out-of-court settlements and public education programs.
The police force has a woman assigned to deal with cases of abuse against women or children; she responds to reports of abuse, helps in investigations and works to raise public awareness of the problem through education, thus preventing abuse.
The police normally cannot act before abuse has occurred or been reported. The force, however, usually responds to reports of abuse and to calls for help. The police and the Welfare Division of the Ministry of Community Development respond to reports of women or child abuse, investigating complaints and assisting in prosecutions when necessary. Imprisonment is the usual punishment for the worst cases of abuse.
The Dominica National Council of Women is perhaps the largest and most active of Dominica's women's associations; it provides a telephone line and an office through which women can obtain legal and psychological counselling, and other assistance. Dominica does not have a shelter for women.
Operation Youth Quake is a program run by the Ministry of Community Development. It provides shelter to abused and homeless children, sending them to school during the day and providing them with food and shelter at night. As with cases of abuse against women, police cannot protect children from abuse that has not yet occurred or been reported. Police and Welfare Division investigators intervene only in cases of abuse or neglect that have been reported or come to their attention in some other way.
As explained by telephone, the DIRB was unable to obtain detailed information or acopy of the Dominica National Council of Women annual report in time to meet the deadline of your request. Also as discussed, please find attached two documents that refer to women's status and organizations in Dominica.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Women's Desk, Roseau. 18 April 1994. Telephone interview with staff member.
Attachments
Encyclopedia of Women's Associations Worldwide. 1993. Edited by Jacqueline K. Barrett. London: Gale Research International Ltd., pp. 98-99.
Women's Movements of the World. 1988. Edited by Sally Shreir. London: Longman, p. 74.
Sources Consulted
Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
L'Etat du monde.
Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch World Report.
Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report.
Women's Movements in the World. 1990.
Latin America Press [Lima]. Weekly.
NACLA Report on the Americas. Monthly.
Latin American Newsletters [London]. Monthly.
The World's Women. Yearly. New York: United Nations.
Discrimination Against Women. 1989.
Women and Men in Society. 1986.
On-line searches.
Note on oral sources:
Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.
