They invited members of the judiciary to a seminar on Tuesday to help them understand the sensitive nature of victims who appear before them in the courtroom.

One of the speakers, Natasha Anius recalled how tragedy struck in the fishing village of Canaries last week, as she and her neighbour Shirlene Antoine were doing household chores together.

Antoine allegedly had a stormy relationship with her boyfriend of many years, and had recently obtained a restraining order against him from the courts.

"Shirlene told me 'look Titus is up there sharpening a cutlass', and I told her 'don't worry yourself with that'," Anius reported. "When we were doing the last trip she said, 'it's for me Titus is sharpening that cutlass' and I told her not to worry about it."

That could have been the last thing that Anius told her friend as Antoine was attacked shortly after and barely escaped with her life.

The Division of Gender relations said the incident demonstrated that domestic violence remains a serious problem.

High Court Judge Adrian Saunders also believes that more than mere laws are needed.

We have to change our understanding of peace, of equality between men and women. Those are societal transformations that will take a while and will take the commitment of all of us   UN official Roberta Clarke

"We want to ensure that it is not just a question of legislation on the books but rather that there are organisational and administrative structures in place in the courts that will facilitate the proper working of the legislation," Mr Saunders said.

"The victims of domestic violence (should) feel they have easy access to the courts, that they come to an environment that is safe and comfortable and will give them the incentive to report instances of domestic violence in an environment where the court and court processes are working smoothly," he said.

The BBC's Pete Ninvalle in St Lucia said a major challenge in the fight against domestic violence is that although there appears to be greater advocacy and increased awareness, that kind of violence appears to be escalating.

Roberta Clarke from the United Nations Development Fund for Women in the Caribbean told BBC Caribbean that while a lot has been done in St Lucia, like increasing police training, increasing judicial awareness and setting up shelters, what is required is cultural change.

"We have to change our understanding of peace, of equality between men and women," she said. "Those are societal transformations that will take a while and will take the commitment of all of us."

The seminar was aimed at giving participants including magistrates, judges, prosecutors and police officers, a better understanding of domestic violence, and to help them develop greater sensitivity for the plight of victims.