Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

Cook Islands
We need increased awareness to encourage victims to come forward, through the
media and education. People are scared of coming forward; they’re scared of
repercussions – of what the husband will do – and scared for their family. There’s a
lack of knowing that by reporting domestic violence, things should get better. If they
keep things to themselves, they just keep getting the same things. Repeat offenders who
are reported to Police tend to be more careful now. It lets them know it’s not
acceptable.
It must be acknowledged that not all women who report domestic violence to Police want
their husbands arrested and prosecuted. Other desired outcomes include:
• obtaining immediate help or intervention to pacify a violent situation;
• enlisting a mediator; and
• promoting safety – the victims’, the offender’s and that of other parties.
Still, women who do report to Police are not always happy with the outcomes, particularly in
the case of inappropriate responses, such as an Officer who told an offender to solve the
problem by taking his wife to bed. Police practices that promote victim safety and reduce
offending could be implemented by recognising barriers to reporting and providing viable
options.
Police can help by saying they won’t take it further if offender contacts a service and
gets help – then follow up and arrest if he doesn’t do that. If we take a black and white
approach, people won’t say anything – we need to give them options. Otherwise they’ll
hide it, clam up, then a few years later we’ll see the kids with behavioural problems
and growing up thinking that’s the normal thing to do. Women always have to press
charges unless someone else does and this can have enormous repercussions for family
relationships; for example. one woman pressed charges against her father for his
violence against her mother and he didn’t speak to her for years.
Community stakeholders commented on problems with Police interview processes which can
act as deterrents to reporting (Box 3).
Box 3 Problems experienced by victims during Police interviews
Problems encountered by victims of domestic violence during the interview process, include:
• Interviews taking hours because Police officers did not know how to type.
• Police who were pastors lecturing victims.
• Policewomen blaming victims for provoking the violence.
• Lack of privacy during interviews. A new Police Headquarters was scheduled to be completed
at the beginning of 2007. It was not clear if private interview rooms were planned.
Discussion
Both community stakeholders and Police commanders said they needed a study of victim
attitudes to inform future directions. If such a study were to be conducted, it would be best
done through the auspices of PTI. Particular attention would need to be paid to the following
issues:
• gaining women’s trust in and rapport with a researcher who is qualified to conduct
interviews on sensitive issues;
• protecting participant privacy and confidentiality;
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