Although many countries have enacted legislations …show more content…
Most victims would get their requests for protection orders rejected due to lack of evidence. Most of the problems have to do with culture, social status, lack of legal representation, lack of preparation and the court system itself. Many victims are not familiar with the technicality of the legal system and they often lost without proper guidance. When victims appear in court unrepresented and not knowing what constitute admissible evidence and what is not, make them unable to confront their abusers and present evidence that support their cases. The victims may expose to intimidation having to face their partners and judges who may be asking poignant questions that may be embarrassing and humiliating to the victims to answer. In the case of Alena and John, for example, the court dismissed Alena’s case for lack of evidence. Alena was unprepared and she did not know what “words and events constitute domestic violence.” Alena did have the enough evidence to obtain a protection order, but the manner by which she told her story to the court made the evidence inadmissible under Trinidad and Tobago’s newly enacted Domestic Violence Act. Lazarus-Black documented domestic violence victims’ court experiences in different jurisdiction in the United States and throughout English Speaking Caribbean islands. Many victims are intimidated in this environment in which they feel that they are barred from speaking freely. They’re not familiar with courtroom settings, which is a public forum where people speak about their personal life in the presence of stranger. That process overwhelmed and intimidated most of the victims, most of whom have never appeared before a judge. The court should be an environment that empowers women or anybody that seeks justice and resolves conflicts in fair and impartial manners that guarantee equal protections under the