The successful conviction of Kamal Worrell for the murder of Chavelle Dillon-Burgess highlights the importance of victims documenting abuse, women’s advocates have argued.

The issue was discussed in an online panel facilitated by Carla Zuill-Ikonwa, the founder of the Women’s Empowerment Summit, and the founder and editor of SheHubTV.

She was joined by anti-abuse charity leaders as well as former victims of domestic abuse in the discussion.

Juanae Crockwell, executive director for the Women’s Resources Centre, said that if anyone was questioning how the case could come to trial in the absence of Ms Dillon-Burgess’s body, they should consider how all of the circumstantial evidence led to building the case.

Ms Crockwell said: “The thing that was really important is that Chavelle reported the abuse. Whether or not she went back and recanted, there is a documented paper trail of the abuse as she shared it with people. All of that came together to build a case in the absence of a body or DNA evidence that typically leads to a conviction.

“That is the important thing to take away — speak up. No one is forcing you to take your abuser to court but speak up, document it. I was afraid that he wouldn’t be found guilty because it was circumstantial, to see all those pieces come together to form a solid case.

“ I was not an isolated incident — the proof is in the pattern. We all make mistakes but you can’t argue with the pattern.”

Leticia Francis of women’s business coaching service Insightful Marketing Research Solutions, said she had suffered abuse from as young as 14 years of age.

She said: “When I was feeling unsafe to share, I would go to my doctor because I knew he was tied by patient-doctor confidentiality. I knew there was a file in case he killed me. I was preparing the case before that happened.”

La’Kayann Outerbride, a life coach with British-based support group Inner Bridge Solutions, who also suffered abuse, added: “Each time something happened, I e-mailed myself. By the time I went to the police, I had dates and everything outlined.”

A Supreme Court jury found Worrell guilty of murdering Ms Dillon-Burgess, the mother of his child, in a majority decision.

Worrell has denied allegations of killing her on an unknown date between April 10 and June 11, 2020.

Ms Zuill-Ikonwa, was joined on the panel by Laurie Shiell-Smith, executive director for the Centre Against Abuse, and Angel Cann of clothing line I am Enough BDA.

The panel discussion began with identifying the different responsibilities of the Women’s Resource Centre and the Centre Against Abuse.

Ms Shiell-Smith explained that the CAA was for adult survivors of intimate partner abuse and sexual assault, providing services including counselling, client advocacy, legal advocacy, resettlement, a 24-hour crisis hotline and community education and awareness.

Ms Crockwell said the WRC was a crisis prevention service providing victims with resources and support but did not provide crisis intervention services outside of counselling. She said it acted as a “triage” and was able to refer clients to other services.

Each of the women gave a definition of domestic abuse, including Ms Shiell-Smith, who said: “It is the use of unwanted behaviours to maintain power and control over another person.

“It can be a current partner or anyone living in the household, or someone such as a care worker. Those abusive behaviours can be physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, religious and through technology, such as when it is used to stalk, harass and manipulate people. It’s about power and control.”

Ms Zuill-Ikonwa, who said she had also suffered abuse in the past, suggested that some women may be reluctant to find help in Bermuda, given it was a small community.

Ms Crockwell said: “Because Bermuda is small, you will be supported. You might know someone who works (at a support facility) but that might turn out to be an advantage for you. We have to shift that narrative as a community and in ourselves, and say, ‘will I allow someone to show up for me?’”

Ms Shiell-Smith added: “For us, confidentiality is a very high priority — you sign an agreement as part of our policy. We maintain the safety of our clients at all times. As a provider of this service, our highest factor is maintaining the safety of our clients at all times.”

The all-female panel agreed that judging victims about why they remained in abusive relationships was not constructive. They said it was better to ask them how you were able to assist them in finding help.

The process of reporting abuse was explained, including obtaining a domestic violence protection order — a court order that, if breached, becomes a criminal matter.

Ms Shiell-Smith said that the CAA was able to assist women with obtaining an order as well as lawyers. She added that if the victim consents to then seeing the abuser, the order is nullified.

She said while there was no longer a static safe house in Bermuda for victims of abuse, there were temporary accommodations that could be found.

Ms Shiell-Smith said that Bermuda needed to make strides in terms of introducing a Domestic Violence Act or a national strategy. “That would assist in holding perpetrators to account,” she said.

The women on the panel, who are all mothers, spoke about the importance of communicating with children from a young age about the dangers of abuse and what constitutes healthy behaviour.

Services such as those provided by the Department of Child and Family Services, the Family Centre and some private facilities were highlighted as resources available for children who are exposed to adults in abusive relationships.

Ms Shiell-Smith added: “If they are school age, speak to a teacher so they recognise they are not being rude but are in a stressful situation. That way that teacher will get them to the school counsellor.”