Tears, candles and cries for justice filled the area outside the Gros Islet Police Station on Thursday evening as Saint Lucians, many of them young mothers and survivors of domestic violence, gathered for a peaceful vigil in honour of Joy St Omer.
What began as a candlelight vigil for the 24-year-old mother who was killed the night before, quickly evolved into a powerful public outcry against gender-based violence, perceived systemic failures, and what attendees described as the urgent need for stronger protections for women.
St Omer had reportedly made multiple complaints to authorities and was allegedly receiving threats against her life before her death. The suspect, her estranged husband, turned himself in to the police. Lawmen confirmed that an active protection order was in place against him, and there was an ongoing court matter involving alleged breaches of that order.
Photo credit: McAllister Hunt / St Lucia TimesThe organiser of the vigil, Angel Foster said she felt compelled to act after learning the circumstances surrounding the killing of the young mother of one.
“I organised this because I think I’m not the only woman that woke up yesterday irritated, angry and upset about what happened to Joy,” she explained.
“She was a young mother, a young woman who actually reported this multiple times to the police and the justice system.”
Photo credit: McAllister Hunt / St Lucia TimesAccording to Foster, most of the women attending the vigil “have actually been survivors of domestic violence or we have been failed by the system”.
Foster alleged that St Omer’s cries for help were not taken seriously enough.
“She was laughed at, ridiculed, belittled and put down,” Foster claimed. “…. She’s not the only woman suffering silently.”
Candles illuminated the night as attendees stood shoulder to shoulder, many visibly emotional while speaking about the fear women continue to face in abusive relationships.
Photo credit: McAllister Hunt / St Lucia TimesOne woman argued that authorities could have done a lot more to prevent St Omer’s death.
“She could have been given an escort. She could have been placed into emergency custody for a time until they found him. They could have done way more than they did,” she said.
In a statement issued on Thursday, police said that St Omer had filed a complaint against her estranged husband on Wednesday morning, but they were unable to locate him. Later that night, she was fatally shot as she sat in a car in Marigot.
The attendee who spoke on condition of anonymity insisted that stronger enforcement mechanisms and mandatory protocols are needed to ensure reports of domestic violence are treated with greater urgency.
“The way you change things is you compel people to comply through laws, protocols and guidelines,” she said.
She also warned against allowing public outrage to fade into complacency, describing what they called a recurring cycle following acts of violence against women: “There is outrage, there is discourse, but eventually it goes back into normalcy and inaction.”
A man was killed in SunnyAcres two days after a woman was killed, most of the murder victims in Saint Lucia are men, it is good that women are protesting after a woman was killed in cold blood, the men need to stand up and protest that so many men are being killed in cold blood, too. All murders are reprehensible, all should lead to protests, the women are doing the right thing by protesting! Gender based violence has no place in any society. All violence should cease, Young men killing each other, men killing women, women killing men, it is all wrong, and it all merits the strongest condemnation.
To all the women. It is with deep sorrow I have to say sorry for the ordeal you have to endure at the hands of underdeveloped men whose brains cannot cause them to act rationally. Sorry that the state has failed to put into place any form of deterrent for such behaviour. Domestic abuse is not something new in Saint Lucia. The records show that for decades past, women has disproportionately suffered the brunt of this scourge in our society and I am sorry that more has not been done, is not being done and as we can see, the authorities are ridiculously slow to implement reforms to improve the safety of our women. I give a particular tongue lashing to the Police for their insensitivity when women report domestic abuse. How can a police officer tell a victim to go back into the very fire she wants to get out of? Government must move fast and without fear or favour to implement changes in help the authorities deal with this scourge on our society. I give the government a particular tongue lashing for their ineptitude, that includes the judiciary too…..Men must stop the toxic masculinity B.S and grow up and be men and fathers and husbands to your families. There is s serious issue in our society. Ms St Omer is not the first but I hope she is the last to suffer this atrocity. Enough is enough because this is an indictment on us as a society.
My proposal.
Human rights are also for the victims too. And I do believe in human rights. But the rights of the perpetrator can never and should never be put above that of the victim when the law determines that the perpetrator is guilty. Now I know the perpetrator has not been found guilty yet but come on, it’s as clear as day….it is for cases like these we need to death penalty.
So, bring back the death penalty specifically for crimes like this. This crime is so horrific and so many levels, society can not forgive this sorry excuse of a man for committing such a heinous act. In this case where the evidence is indisputable, the facts are verifiable, there is no inkling of doubt in the deliberations of the court. The criminal should pay the ultimate price.
He will get his due process in the courts, given his human rights, respect his person, given an chance for defence, his lawyers, every tool necessary to defend his case but if the courts find you guilty of first degree murder, you get one appeal. Once your appeal fails, you now have 2 weeks to put your things in order and you know for sure in 2 week’s time you are non existent. That should put the fear of what ever god you worship in you. Believe you me, these crimes will stop. If a criminal knows after his failed appeal, he/she has two weeks to live, they know the date of their last days on earth, trust me, they will think twice, thrice even before committing such heinous acts…..
There are crimes so unimaginably shocking, that society in its conscience can not bare the depth of depravity of it, then the criminal has forfeited and broken his social contract with society. He/she then should not be living in civil society. In That case the state should say good riddance….. bring back the death penalty for crimes specifically like these to let these monsters know we won’t accept such heinous acts.