More males report physical abuse by female partners in new survey

A new survey co-published by the Mico Foundation and Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has highlighted the top three human rights violations reported in 10 Kingston communities as domestic violence, police violence and address-based employment denial or structural discrimination.

The 2025 survey, dubbed Citizens’ Rights, Roles, Responsibilities and Practices,was conducted by Mico’s Institute of Technological and Educational Research and released yesterday at the institution.

A quantitative research survey was done with 305 respondents across urban communities targeting about 40 people per community.

The survey was followed through with qualitative focus groups discussion comprising 10 participants per group across the selected communities.

Topping human rights violations was domestic violence, with 34.4 per cent or 105 out of 305 people reporting that they suffered abuse at the hands of parents, siblings or household members.

Another 22.6 per cent or 69 out of 305 people said they were abused by the police while 22.3 per cent or 68 out of 305 people reported employment denial based on where they lived.

Project lead for the research, Sandra Grey-Alvaranga said the youth cohort, aged 16 to 24, was the most affected of the group.

“They were the most educated and the ones who had the best information on what to do when you face certain difficulties. In spite of that they were the ones that were least likely to seek help,” she divulged.

“What were the common responses when they faced violent situations – they tell the family first; they may go to the police next, and they confront the abuser third,” she added.

UNFORTUNATE REALITY

The researcher said one of the unfortunate realities which came up repeatedly in the discussions across communities was that the ‘informer fi dead culture’ still exists.

Zooming in on human rights violations by gender, Grey-Alvaranga said a surprising finding was that more men admitted to intimate partner violence than women. The results showed 33 men as against 31 women who reported abuse by their partner.

The lead researcher said interactions with the focus groups across communities indicate that domestic violence by their own admission is normalized whether it be verbal or physical. Grey-Alvaranga said the explanation given is that “man beat woman and woman beat man – that is normal”.

Furthermore, she said the focus groups have said that a “woman’s mouth is wicked and can kill you” while a “man’s fist will do the same”.

“So they willingly accept that there are instances of extreme provocation on one end and extreme retaliation on the other with no mediation taking place,” she said.

“The women say their mouth is their superpower,” the lead project researcher noted, adding that “this admission complicates the framing of domestic violence showing how verbal provocation intersects with physical retaliation”.

At the same time, the abused men say they were highly stigmatized if they report it to the police as there is the view that “man nuh supposed to mek a woman beat him”.

The project lead said one man who reported abuse by his female partner to the police was reportedly told that he was “too soft”.

However, he reportedly walked away and did not ‘duh har supm’ because his entire family had been to prison.

REASON FOR INTERVENTION

In terms of violence against women and children, the research found that the communities intervened in certain circumstances. Grey-Alvaranga said eight out of the 10 communities indicate that they would intervene if a man was beating his woman too badly. She noted that the intervention wasn’t because an abuse was taking place but owing to the fact that it was too brutal.

She said it was widely agreed across communities that if a child was being abused sexually or suffering serious physical abuse there would be decisive action from community members that could be detrimental to the perpetrators.

The survey also showed that males were more likely to be affected by police violence. There were 52 reports or 31.3 per cent of males as against 11.6 per cent of females who reported being violently abused by the police. In terms of arbitrary police detention, there were 41 reports from males or 26.1 per cent as against 11 per cent for females.

Youth aged 16 to 24 were disproportionately impacted by police physical violence with 30 reports or 26.5 per cent within the age group.

The communities surveyed are: Tivoli Gardens, Hannah Town, Mountain View, Waterhouse, Rose Town, Whitfield Town, McIntyre Villa (Dunkirk), Trench Town, August Town and DenhamTown.

In terms of demographics, 51.5 per cent of the people surveyed were males and 48 per cent females and one unknown. Seventy one per cent of those interviewed completed secondary education.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com