Jamaica cracks down on domestic violence with new laws aimed at better protecting victims

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaica has adopted stronger domestic violence laws as the government aims to better protect victims on the island where people are reluctant to report such cases to authorities. Protection orders now include harassment and property damage, and the penalty for violating a protection order has increased from $65 to $6,450 and a potential sentence of up to one year in prison. The spouse or parent of a person being threatened, as well as social workers and children’s advocates if they’re filing an order on behalf of a child, can now request such orders. All these amendments were included in a bill approved by Jamaica’s Senate in late December and will take effect Monday.