Judges get gender guidelines

CHIEF Justice Ivor Archie said gender guidelines for judges can make courtrooms perceive changes in society, combat judges' personal biases and ensure fairness for the public in the courtroom. The launch of the guidelines was held yesterday at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain.

Canada high commissioner Carla Hogan Rufelds said her government consistently does a gender review of programmes, policies and legislation, and hailed TT for having Caricom’s best domestic-violence laws.

Justice Judith Jones, chair of the protocol committee, hoped for a new course of gender-sensitive adjudication so as to correct structural imbalances, including the treatment of non-traditional gender identities. Justice Peter Jamadar, head of the Judicial Education Institute, said the protocol is not just a pretty document but must be used by judges and magistrates.

Tonni Ann Brodber, local deputy head of United Nations Women, spelt out the abuses faced by women, according to a 2018 Prevalence Survey Report by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB.) One third of women have suffered domestic violence from their partners. She added, “Ten per cent are still in abusive relationships.”

One in ten women has experienced sexual violence and one in ten economic violence. The most vulnerable age of women for gender-based violence from their partner is 20-24, Brodber added.

She disclosed the factors that can make a man view violence as an acceptable means of engagement. These are: witnessing violence at a young age, low education and the harmful use of drugs or alcohol. “What is happening with our young children, and what they are witnessing in their households?” she asked.

Carl Quamina, a master on the committee on the protocol, said he wants to be a "firestarter" to promote the guidelines.

To illustrate the need for gender sensitisation, he related throwaway phrases often directed at abused women: “If you left him due to abuse, why did you go back?” and “You didn’t scream and you didn’t fight. It was consensual, wasn’t it?” and “Why didn’t you report it to the police?”.

Quamina said in his courtroom he now uses simple language, such as asking warring spouses, “How can we together support this child?”

On equality of access to justice, he said for many individuals it is a huge achievement simply to get to court owing to personal obstacles, as he vowed to stay aware of power imbalances within the courtroom.