Battered spouses and their children are entitled to the best protection available under the new Domestic Violence Decree.
Under the new law, a court that makes, or intends to make, a domestic violence restraining order, may order that a protected person has the right to occupy a home and that access by the perpetrator to the home be restricted.
This is based on the section that covers the Occupation Order in the Decree.
Former High Court Judge, Nazhat Shameem said the principle must be applied by a court when exercising jurisdiction under the decree on the need to ensure the safety and wellbeing of victims of domestic violence.
This gives the courts the power to order perpetrators to move out of their homes to ensure that the victims are protected.
Nazhat Shameem said the paramount concern here is to ensure that the act of domestic violence stops and the battered spouse and the children are safe.
Shameem is currently holding training sessions for government officials and other stakeholders on the Domestic Violence Decree.
There is concern that the Domestic Violence Decree does not focus on a number of contributing factors that leads to the offence.
These are the sentiments of Fiji Women's Rights Movement Executive Director Virisila Buadromo, who said there must also be thorough gender sensitivity training on domestic violence for law enforcers and other stakeholders.
Buadromo adds the Decree does not have alot of focus on doctors and nurses and how their professional opinions can be used by the victim in a court of law.
Violence under the decree means physical injury or threatening physical injury, sexual abuse or threatening sexual abuse, damaging or threatening to damage property of a victim, threatening, intimidating or harassing, persistently behaving in an abusive, cruel, inhumane, degrading, provocative or offensive manner.
It also covers people causing the victim apprehension or fear by following the victim, loitering outside a workplace or other place frequented by the victim, entering or interfering with a home or place occupied by the victim or interfering with the property of the victim.
The law also recognises children as victims, and under the definition of domestic violence in the decree, it states that violence also means causing or allowing a child to see or hear any of the domestic violence.
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Battered spouses, children entitled to best protection
