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More awareness needed on domestic violence, drug rehab laws: Case reports 

04 Nov 2021

BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody There is a need for increased awareness of the legal provisions of laws such as the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA) No. 34 of 2005 and the Drug Dependent Persons (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act No. 54 of 2007, among clinicians and the public, in order to both prevent imminent threats to the lives of family members and recurrent abuse, and to assist aggrieved patients and family members, academics in the forensic medicine field observed. This observation was made in two case reports on “Are laws of domestic violence and rehabilitation of substance abusers satisfactory in Sri Lanka? A review with cases” which was authored by D. Ariyarathna and S.R. Hulathduwa (attached to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Medical Sciences Faculty’s Forensic Medicine Department) and published in the Medico-Legal Journal of Sri Lanka 7 (2) in December 2019. Certain laws such as the PDVA and the Drug Dependent Persons (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act (per S. Reardon’s “Drug-free therapy makes addicts forget addiction”) have mandated the introduction of rehabilitation. Hence, Ariyarathna and Hulathduwa highlighted the rehabilitative approach of the criminal justice system through two case reports. First case A 43-year-old female patient had been examined for multiple injuries on the body including a periorbital haematoma (black eye), contusions (bruises) on the upper arms, and generalised aches and pains following assault by her husband. History taking revealed chronic and ongoing episodes of domestic violence of a physical nature. Owing to the ongoing nature of the abuse, the Police had filed a case at the relevant Magistrate’s Court. After the reporting of the facts by the Police, an interim order and a protection order had been issued. An interim protection order prohibits the respondent from committing or causing the commission of any act of domestic violence per Section 5(1) of the PDVA. The court is satisfied that by reason of the circumstances of the case and upon evidence given by the aggrieved person or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person, or any material witness, such prohibition or condition is necessary to prevent any act of domestic violence.  A protection order prohibits the respondent from committing or causing the commission of any act of domestic violence, as per Section 10(1) of the PDVA. Here, the court is satisfied that by reason of the circumstances of the case and upon evidence given by the aggrieved person or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person, or any other material witness, that it is necessary to do so in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the aggrieved person. Prohibitions on the respondent contained in an interim protection order or protection order include, among others, prohibition from – entering a residence or any specified part thereof, shared by the aggrieved person and the respondent; entering the aggrieved person’s residence, place of employment, and school; or entering any shelter in which the aggrieved person may be temporarily accommodated. It further prevents the respondent who ordinarily lives or has lived in a shared residence from entering or remaining in the shared residence or a specified part of the shared residence of the aggrieved person; occupying the shared residence; or having contact with any child of the aggrieved person or having contact with such child other than on the satisfaction of such conditions as the court may consider appropriate in the best interest of such child. Moreover, the respondent is prohibited from preventing the aggrieved person from using or having access to shared resources; contacting or attempting to establish contact with the aggrieved person in any manner whatsoever; committing acts of violence against any other person, whether it be a relative, friend, social worker, or medical officer, who may be assisting the aggrieved person; or following the aggrieved person around so as to cause a nuisance. In addition to the above, the respondent cannot engage in such other conduct as in the opinion of the court will be detrimental to the safety, health, or wellbeing of the aggrieved person or other person who may require protection from the respondent as the court may specify; and selling, transferring, alienating, or encumbering the matrimonial home so as to place the aggrieved person in a destitute position. The court can also impose any prohibition to accommodate the aggrieved person or the children of the aggrieved person and the children of the respondent. The protection order is given for a duration of a year, during which period, the parties should settle the matter in a positive manner, but if there is risk of further abuse, the order could be extended for another year. While the said court case was ongoing, the court ordered mandatory family counselling for the husband and wife. The Police later revealed that with time, the husband became less violent and more empathetic to the family. A review revealed that the family was stable following the court case instituted under the PDVA. The examinee also emphasised as to how it had helped to prevent the passive abuse of the children. Second case A 25-year-old male with a history of alleged abuse of heroin was produced for a medico-legal examination. The history and clinical examination confirmed that he was a chronic drug addict as a detailed history and psychiatric assessment revealed features of dependence. A report had been prepared for the Magistrate, indicating the dire need of rehabilitation. Based on the details made available during the history taking, the victim’s family was contacted several months later to learn that he was successfully rehabilitated at the government’s expense and had later had been sent overseas as an unskilled labourer, and that the latter was now sending money home regularly to care for the aging parents and two school-going siblings. According to Ariyarathna and Hulathduwa, awareness among healthcare personnel with regard to relatively newly enacted or newly implemented laws on domestic violence and the rehabilitation of drug addicts is unsatisfactory. The duo explained that in the day-to-day practice, judicial medical officers (JMO) examine victims and assailants in a wide range of cases including sexual offences, domestic violence, child abuse, and drug intoxication, and in addition to their obligations in connection with medico-legal matters, they also get an opportunity to take part in preventive or rehabilitative measures. In this regard, they pointed out that the implementation of laws mainly focused on preventive aspects, including rehabilitation instead of punishment (“Rehabilitation as a positive obligation” by S. Meijer and “The changing purposes of criminal punishment: A retrospective on the past Century and some thoughts about the next” by A.W. Alschuler) constituted a recent advance in the criminal justice system. Studies in penology (W. Martz’s “A comparative and analytical essay on the Sri Lankan and American drug policy” and R.K. Chandler, B.W. Fletcher, and N.D. Volkow’s “Treating drug abuse and addiction in the criminal justice system”) noted that punishment or penalty, which is a temporary remedy, has limited benefits, whereas alternative strategies such as rehabilitation have enormous short-term and long-lasting benefits to the individual, the immediate family, and the society. With regard to the PDVA, Ariyarathna and Hulathduwa elaborated that while it has positive aspects such as the recognition of emotional abuse, the provision of opportunities for expeditious intervention and counselling, and the providing of protection to the parents and in-laws of the spouses who are party to the case, it also has negative aspects where it may empower a woman to institute legal actions against her husband on bogus grounds and other overt actions which may destabilise the social and cultural bonds of the conventional family.  On the other hand, the Drug Dependent Persons (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act has established drug dependents rehabilitation centres which are governed under the supervision of the National Dangerous Drug Control Board and trained counsellors. The residential treatment programme is about three months and it seeks to minimise the recurrence of drug-related offences. This programme is followed up by a mandatory relapse prevention programme where the support of the victim’s family is expected so as to prevent him/her from returning to addictive behaviours. In conclusion, Ariyarathna and Hulathduwa emphasised that in cases involving drug dependency, punishment may not be at all effective, and that therefore, since the dependency is a result of the chemical nature of the drug and since the offender himself/herself is a victim, what they require is treatment for withdrawal and rehabilitation, followed by re-socialisation. If you’re affected by the above content or if you/someone you know may be dealing with a similar situation, the following institutions would assist you:

Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs helpline: 1938

Women In Need (WIN) 24-hour hotline: 077 567 6555 Sri Lanka Police Child and Women Bureau: 011 244 4444 NDDCB emergency hotline: 1927 Mel Madura (Sumithrayo): 0112694665

   

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