“We Need Accountability”: Sealys Says Authorities Failing Domestic Violence Victims

Director of Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia, Catherine Sealys has criticised how domestic violence cases are handled, blaming systemic failures for allowing abuse to persist. Her comments follow the brutal attack on four members of the Labadie family—including a five-year-old child—in their Industry, Choiseul home last Friday night. Reports indicate that one of the two attackers was the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims. “This is domestic violence,” Sealys, a long-time advocate against gender-based violence, stated firmly during an interview. “And it continues to happen because we have a system that allows it to happen.” Sealys did not mince words. She criticised the way domestic violence cases are handled, from law enforcement to the courts to social services, arguing that victims are often ignored or failed at multiple levels. “When someone reports domestic violence and the police don’t take them seriously; when you have people going before family court with a broken jaw, broken fingers… and all they get is a protection order that’s barely enforced—what message does that send? It tells abusers they can keep doing this and walk away with a slap on the wrist.” she lamented. Sealys pointed to gaps in the justice system, identifying cases of...