Violence as a Human Rights abuse

DEAR EDITOR,

A worrying number of wom­en in the Solomon Islands experience domestic vio­lence.

Statistics have shown al­most 64% of women in our society have encountered domestic violence at some point in their lives.

Others never pursue help since domestic violence is accepted as a private matter which is normal.

It is also evident that some police are reluctant to im­pose their duty to protect victims from private acts of violence.

Moreover, our culture plays a role in silencing victims, that man dominates house­hold hence incidents of do­mestic violence should not be reported.

Daily occurrences of do­mestic violence happen at homes but only 5% of the women report to police. Incidents are underre­ported because women are unsatisfied with the police response and response du­ration.

Others fear for their lives and avoid reporting inci­dents to the police due to receiving threats from of­fenders.

Families and communities must be heedful and vo­cal of such incidents and should report to responsible authorities.

Domestic violence is a hu­man rights abuse. Although domestic violence is re­garded as a private matter to some women, the human rights structure delivers a tool to challenge this opin­ion and reframe it as a mu­tual problem that society as a whole must address.

Our government recognizes and responds to the high rates of violence against women with significant Acts like the Family Pro­tection Act.

Therefore, Police and re­sponsible authorities must have the responsibility to exercise due diligence to prevent, examine and pun­ish violators by imposing maximum penalties as the laws allow and protect the victims.

JILGINA KIMISI

S11015706

USP HONIARA CAMPUS