RECOMMENDATIONS on how to tackle gender-based violence and improve women’s safety are due to be presented to the government in the spring.
Home Affairs Minister Helen Miles said that members of a taskforce charged with reviewing the issue were currently undertaking research and that while Jersey was a safe place, work was needed to better understand the prevalence of the crime in the Island.
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, gender-based violence is a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality, and continues to be one of the most notable human-rights violations.
‘Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of their gender. Both women and men experience it but the majority of victims are women and girls,’ the EIGE’s website says.
St Martin Constable Karen Shenton-Stone successfully lodged an amendment to last year’s Government Plan to set aside £200,000 for a taskforce and piece of rapid research on sexual and domestic violence and harassment in Jersey, including drink-spiking.
Originally, the taskforce’s review was specifically geared towards looking at violence against women, but Deputy Miles explained it was now focusing on ‘gender-based violence’, as the issues affects both men and women.
The taskforce is made up of a number of organisations and charities involved in the fight to prevent violence against women. It includes the States police, Jersey Women’s Refuge, Liberate, Jersey Action Against Rape, the Probation Service and the Domestic Abuse Forum.
Deputy Miles said: ‘We are making excellent progress and members are going to be doing qualitative work to understand safety issues around gender-based violence – which includes women, men, boys and girls.
‘We have asked them to make some recommendations by spring 2023 and this will help to ensure we have better safety measures in place.’
She added: ‘Jersey is a safe place already; we have fewer issues than elsewhere but nonetheless we need to better understand the prevalences and actually get to grips with it. We are a safe and close-knit community but we do have victims of violence and one victim is one too many.’
Deputy Miles said that part of the taskforce’s work would provide a ‘needs analysis’ to ensure Islanders had access to the appropriate services.
Sexual assault support charity Jersey Action Against Rape recently revealed that it was struggling to lower waiting times for its counselling services due to a continual increase in the number of referrals.
Deputy Miles said it was important that the government worked closely with its partners to help facilitate access to services.
‘There has been significant investment in our sexual-abuse and domestic-abuse services but there is always things we can do to improve,’ she added.
‘As Home Affairs Minister I want to make sure people have the trust and confidence in our services and to feel like they are going to be taken seriously and they are going to be dealt with sensitively.
‘I know the States police do offer that level of confidence but it is always a difficulty with these sensitive topics.
‘Hence setting up a sexual assault referral centre so people can attend it without having to report anything to the police until the time they choose to do so.’
Deputy Miles said she was pleased with the direction the government was moving in with regard to tackling violence against women and men.
‘There’s no utopias to be found here; we need to continue to build on the investment made previously.
‘We are never going to eradicate domestic violence, but we can make better moves to combat it,’ she said.
