Domestic Violence in the Caribbean

Overarching concept of violence:
Violence is a social problem which is not limited to any particular society. It is a social plague that has far reaching consequences and one which affects the very heart of any society.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) World Report on Violence and Health 2002, violence is defined as:
…the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.
In this report, further differentiation was made in the ways, which violence may be inflicted: physical, sexual and psychological attack and deprivation and from this definition reference was made to ‘interpersonal violence’; that is, violence between individuals and, this is further divided into family and intimate partner violence and community violence (WHO 2002).
In light of the above introductory definition, the intent this paper is to focus on interpersonal violence, with specific reference to intimate partner violence or ‘domestic violence’ particularly in Trinidad and Tobago.
This paper seeks to explore the theoretical perspectives proffered by the symbolic interactionist, feminist and functionalist, as it relates to the social issue of domestic violence; causes and effects of the issue, programmes formulated and implemented and omissions and gaps that may exist. It also offers possible solutions to the way forward, as is applicable to Trinidad and Tobago.

(The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, General Assembly Resolution, December 1993) reported that:
“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women...”
Additionally, Khan (2000)

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