43 children motherless after 17 women slaughtered by partners in 2020

Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls

– Guyana launches #enoughwiththeviolence campaign

As Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, it was pointed out that 17 women were killed by their partners for the year thus far, leaving at least 43 children motherless.
This was revealed by Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud, who on Wednesday launched the #enoughwiththeviolence campaign that is aimed at bringing definitive actions to eliminate domestic violence in Guyana.

“I launch a primary prevention campaign aimed at reducing violence against women – #enoughwiththeviolence. Our stance together will create an umbrella of protection for legions of women. We must be the hope for children, so they will not have to live without the love of their mothers; and we must be the conscience of a country that will not tolerate an iota of violence against women. #enoughwiththeviolence,” the Minister said in her message.
She added that the Domestic Violence Hotline – 914 emergency hotline – will be launched next month to link survivors to various agencies, advocacy programmes, referral pathways, microenterprise industries, public-private skills’ employment database matching; and offer immediate help to extricate women from violent situations.
She stressed that every incident of domestic violence should be reported, in an effort to preserve life and in getting potential victims out before it becomes too late.
The 24-hour hotline operators will offer support, referral to victims and survivors, family, friends and professionals via an integration of the services available at both the Domestic Violence Unit and the Childcare and Protection Agency. Nine Social Workers were trained through the Survivors Advocacy Programme to offer emotional support and crisis counselling to victims of domestic and sexual violence, and to act on the victims’ behalf when necessary.
“A sustained multi-sectoral approach and critical partnerships with civil society organisations and other stakeholders will create the momentum to stop this relentless escalation of violence. A centralised database system will be developed in the first quarter of 2021 to facilitate information sharing and capture reports in a systematic manner, to guide intervention and programme and policy development,” she said.
In addition, she noted that while the lives of women are at constant risk, some women are still afraid to come forward and say they are victims.
Domestic violence remains a taboo in Guyana, shuttered behind closed doors and only emerging as bloody faces, bruised limbs, broken spirits and dead bodies, Dr Persaud pointed out. She said that fear of societal judgement, insecurities about children and finances, family pressure, and manipulation keep this a hushed conversation, or result in an overwhelming silence.
She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has kept many women in proximity to their abusers, and reporting has become challenging. Fists, knives, guns, hurtful words continue to be used, instead of discussion or counselling.
“We all know that violence against women is a heinous crime; that it is a pervasive breach of human rights; yet, it continues to be one of the longest, hardest challenges to the world, and involves psyches, attitudes, poverty, cultures, emotional manipulation, substance abuse and lack of education. While we struggle to find the solution, women continue to cower in fear, tell doctors that they fell down the stairs to explain injuries from merciless beatings, and lawyers and case workers continue to plead with them to stay away from their perpetrators,” Minister Persaud said.
She called on everyone to play their part to expose violence against women where it exists, support the women, work with the perpetrators, create safe spaces, educate persons, and share solutions.
The Minister also launched the 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM in Guyana on Wednesday.
The Minister said in her message there should be no more violence against women in the dark. The Spotlight is on it through a one billion Guyana dollars’ donation from the European Union/United Nations Spotlight investment in strategic and catalytic programmes, given to address the root causes of violence against women and to develop strong safety nets to support women in violent circumstances over a three year-period.