Jamaica has enacted legislation that strengthens penalties for domestic violence and increases services for victims. The changes include increasing penalties for violating a protection order from $65 to $6,450 and imposing up to a year in prison on perpetrators; broadening the types of people who can seek a protection order; and expanding hotlines and shelters for domestic violence victims; The Jamaican Government said a recent health survey found that four in ten women in Jamaia "experience some form of intimate partner violence."
Compiled from: "Jamaica cracks down on domestic violence with new laws aimed at better protecting victims,": Associated Press, Jan. 22, 2024.