Dokument #1026081
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
The following information was provided
during a 31 October 1996 interview with the Coordinator of Women's
Affairs at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Women's Affairs in
Kingstown. Further to the information she provided on avenues of
redress for victims of rape and domestic violence in Response to
Information Request VCT21276.F of 6 October 1995, the Coordinator
stated that in her opinion since October 1995 there has been no
significant change nor improvement in the situation concerning
domestic violence. It is true that the passage of the Domestic
Violence Act of 1995 allows for further avenues of legal redress,
but the Coordinator clarified that although in theory legal
recourse and protection are available to women, in practice they do
not exist. She gave as an example the case of a woman murdered in
1995 during a festival in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Following
a domestic dispute, the woman was shot by her partner in front of
the central police station, in the presence of police officers. The
Coordinator asserted that this event illustrated a widespread lack
of respect for the law. Last week the perpetrator's sentence of
manslaughter was reduced to five years. The Coordinator explained
that representatives of women's groups, including two female
members of parliament, will demonstrate in front of the high court
on 1 November 1996 to protest the reduction of the manslaughter
sentence and to demand the removal of the perpetrator from St.
Vincent and the Grenadines.
Country Reports 1995 indicates
that a family court was established under the Domestic Violence Act
of 1995 in order to accelerate judicial treatment of such cases
(1996, 523-24). Further, in May 1995 the child support law was
amended to allow for court-ordered payments despite filing of
appeals (ibid., 524).
For information on a rape victim from St.
Vincent and the Grenadines who faced deportation from Canada in
January 1996, please consult the attached articles.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Department of Education, Youth and
Women's Affairs, Kingstown. 31 October 1996. Telephone interview
with Coordinator of Women's Affairs.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1995. 1996. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Attachments
The Montreal Gazette
[Montréal]. 8 January 1996. "Rape Victim 'in Danger' if
Deported." (NEXIS)
_____. 4 January 1996. Jeff
Heinrich. "'If I Go Back, I Will Die'" Raped in Homeland, Woman
Fights Deportation." (NEXIS)