Only two cases of domestic violence heard at Dili District Court

Dili Distric Court Official Seal

East Timor Legal News 28/07/2012 Source: The Dili Weekly 26/07/2012 Written by Venidora Oliveira - Of the 115 cases of domestic violence handled by the Victim Support Services (VSS) since January 2012, only two were heard in the courts.

“We have attended to a total of 115 cases of domestic violence so far this year, however only two have been resolved by the courts, “said VSS Coordinator Marcelina Amaral, in Colmera, Dili.

Although lodged quite a while ago, some of the cases are still being investigated by the Office of the Public Prosecutor.

“We must be patient with the delay in the court because quite a high number of cases are lodged every day,” said the VSS coordinator.

In the meantime, Maria Maia Reis a Member of Parliament (MP) asked Government to act accordingly to address the ever-increasing number of cases especially now there are laws on domestic violence.

“I believe in order to mitigate domestic violence, both men and women should be made aware of the need to communicate rationally otherwise it’s back to square one,”  said MP Reis.

The MP acknowledged and praised the efforts of the VSS in their assistance to victims of domestic violence particularly in referring them to the legal system.