Jamaica was recently named the most peaceful country in the Caribbean in the Global Peace Index. Murders are at lows, robberies have fallen, and communities that once lived under the shadow of violence are beginning to feel hopeful.
For women, the numbers tell a compelling story. Robberies against women have fallen by nearly 80 per cent since 2011. Break-ins have declined dramatically, and rape reports have trended downward although they remain far too high. Female murders, the most tragic measure of violence, have fallen from a peak of 160 victims in 2017 to just 63 in 2025, the lowest figure in more than a decade. These are achievements worth recognising: lives not lost, families kept whole.
But there is another truth we must confront. For too many women, the greatest threat is not found on a street corner. It is found inside the home, within intimate relationships, behind doors that rarely attract public attention. Unlike a shooting or a robbery, domestic violence leaves no crime tape and no headline. It is quieter, more hidden, and too often endured long before it is reported at all.
The improving crime statistics tell only part of the story. Safer streets do not automatically mean safer homes. This is not a unique challenge: an estimated one in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime, most often at the hands of an intimate partner.
THE GOOD NEWS
Between 2011 and 2025, the police recorded that incidents involving female victims declined across nearly every major crime category. Robberies against women fell from more than 1,600 cases annually to just over 350, and break-ins dropped by almost two-thirds. Aggravated assault also declined, and rape reports steadily fell.
These improvements mirror the broader transformation in public safety, built on sustained investment in policing and crime prevention. Bogota, Colombia, offers a useful parallel: community policing and environmental design reduced overall crime and improved women’s safety on the streets, yet domestic violence remained comparatively resistant because the forces driving abuse inside relationships differ from those driving crime outside them.
As public spaces become safer, national attention must turn towards violence inside homes. Victims often know their perpetrators intimately, remain economically dependent on them, or fear retaliation. Domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes in the world, so reported numbers rarely tell the full story.
Reported domestic violence cases rose from 4,615 in 2021 to 8,070 in 2022, an increase of almost 75 per cent, and stayed consistently high, exceeding 8,000 cases in both 2023 and 2024 before easing to 7,559 in 2025, a 6.4 percent reduction. That recent decline is encouraging, but the sustained volume signals that domestic violence continues to touch thousands of families each year. Women bear the greatest burden, accounting for roughly 86 per cent of reported victims in 2021, and although male victim reports have since risen, women still represent the overwhelming majority affected.
The 2021 to 2022 jump should be read carefully. A rise in reported incidents does not necessarily mean domestic violence became more common; it may equally reflect improved reporting mechanisms, greater public awareness, growing confidence in police and support services, and society reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, rising reports signal that more survivors are finding the confidence to come forward rather than suffer in silence.
Jamaica has steadily strengthened its support for survivors. Since the country’s first regional shelter opened in 2020, the National Shelter Unit has supported 224 survivors of domestic violence and their dependents with housing, counselling, healthcare, legal referrals, and vocational training through three regional shelters, two now fully operational.
Shelter numbers have shifted year to year, from 69 survivors between 2020 and 2022, down to 55, then 35, up to 40, and settling at 25 in 2025 to 2026. These figures are not evidence that domestic violence is declining. They represent only survivors who accessed one part of a broader system. The real challenge is ensuring that every woman trusts that asking for help will bring protection, not greater danger.
CHANGING VICTIM PROFILE
The profile of female murder victims has changed significantly. In 2013, nearly one in three female murder victims was a girl under 18. By 2024, girls accounted for less than five per cent. Today, adult women make up the overwhelming majority of victims, with those aged 25 and older representing roughly three-quarters or more, concentrated between ages 25 and 59. This shift redirects prevention towards adult relationships, intimate partner violence, family conflict, and economic vulnerability.
Chile’s strengthened femicide legislation focused on identifying women at high risk from current or former partners. Spain built specialised domestic violence courts and police units. Rwanda’s Isange One Stop Centres brought medical care, police response, counselling, and legal support under one roof, sparing survivors repeated retelling. The lesson is consistent: protecting women requires institutions built around gender-based violence, not an assumption that crime reduction alone will solve it.
Violence against women is also not evenly spread across the island. The largest numbers of female murder victims came from St Catherine North, St James, Clarendon, St Catherine South, Westmoreland, and St Andrew South, the same divisions with highest overall violent crime. Women there face overlapping risks, so victim services should be concentrated where the need is greatest.
Women today are significantly less likely to be robbed, assaulted, or killed than a decade ago, gains built on sustained investment and dedicated policing.
But success in one area should never blind us to unfinished work in another. As street violence declines, domestic and intimate partner violence account for a growing share of the risk women face. The next phase of public-safety strategy must extend into the places where violence hides: stronger shelters, specialised police training, expanded counselling, and economic support for vulnerable women.
Jamaica has reached an important milestone in making its streets safer. The next milestone is making every home just as safe.
Christian Tavares-Finson is government senator and attorney at law.
