Women only 2.5% of domestic murders

THE EDITOR: In an online discussion held on November 30 and hosted by the British High Commission, the wife of the President, Reema Carmona, declared, “I am genuinely appalled and concerned at the alarming murder statistics of our TT women who perish at the hands of domestic violence.” But what, exactly, are these alarming statistics?

According to the Police Service, between 2010 and 2015, there were 131 domestic violence murders, which works out to an average of 25 killings a year. But 25 per cent of those murdered in domestic situation were males, albeit invariably killed by other men. So it turns out that an average of 14 women are murdered every year because of domestic violence, also invariably by men.

Since in the 2010-2015 period there was a total of 2,423 murders, this means that domestic killings of males and females (including children) constitute five per cent of all homicides, and female domestic violence victims make up 2.5 per cent of all murders, while females account for four per cent of homicide victims overall.

The alarm about violence against women, therefore, has less to do with statistical realities and more to do with the ethos to protect “the weaker sex” that has been integral to the human condition since homo sapiens began prowling the African savannahs.

KEVIN BALDEOSINGH, Freeport