The case in which an attorney-at-law took her estranged husband to court for severely beating and injuring her this year has left several women who are victims of abuse saying they did not know that a wife could bring criminal charges against her husband.

"My husband has been abusing me for more than ten years because the simplest thing I say to him sometimes, he boxes and kicks me," a woman disclosed last week.

"I plan several times to leave him but I have never had the courage. However, since I read what happened in the case involving the female lawyer and her husband, it has boosted my confidence and I now feel strengthened and confident to report my husband to the police and have him arrested and taken to court the next time he hits me," she said

No order

The case against the lawyer's husband was adjourned sine die (that is, indefinitely or without a date being set for a future trial) and will hang over the husband's head until he gets a no order in the matter, or the charges are withdrawn or dismissed. When a case is adjourned sine die it can be brought back at any time and tried.

The parties and their lawyers arrived at an agreement and when the case was mentioned in court this month, the wife's lawyers told the court that she wished to have the matter adjourned sine die and referred to an agreement that the parties had arrived at. Under the agreement, the husband has consented to get professional counselling to deal with his anger issues. The husband has agreed to relocate abroad and also to pay all medical expenses arising from the physical abuse of his wife.

The wife has filed divorce proceedings against the husband. The wife applied to the Supreme Court and obtained a restraining order which bars the husband from communicating or coming in contact with the wife and their children.

Some women might not be aware of their legal rights but there are adequate provisions in law to protect them from physical abuses, and a husband can be charged for assaulting his wife.

A divorce lawyer said some abused wives were reluctant to bring criminal charges. He said some of them were of the view that if their husbands were arrested and charged for abusing them, or had to go to jail, it would have 'a stigma' for their children.

He has advised that abused wives should not hesitate to seek legal advice because there are many ways to deal with the matter. He said there were ways to provide the victims with protection and at the same time "let the husbands appreciate that there can be serious consequences if they abuse their wives." He said very often it was found that the "husbands were in need of counselling."