Again, another mother is battling for her life, as domestic violence discussion has again surfaced. This time, the young 22-year-old mother was trying to escape a life of abuse when she was mercilessly chopped by her former partner, who from reports has not accepted that the relationship is over. Vashti Mahase of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara was placed in a terrible situation by the Police when she was ordered to accompany an unarmed Rural Constable (RC) to serve her abuser with a restraining order. This in itself raises the issue of how frivolous some members of the Guyana Police Force treat matters of restraining orders. Ms Mahase, in this instance, fell victim to another administrative glitch, which saw her facing her abuser with an unarmed RC. Numerous cases of domestic violence have been reported in the Guyanese media. Many victims of domestic violence were brutally killed in some instances. Unfortunately, it continues despite awareness efforts and the much-touted training of law enforcement officers, who are expected to be the first step of recourse with regard to the lodging of complaints.
There is more than a subtle irony in the continuance of this societal scourge in spite of the relentless efforts and the plethora of available mechanisms to inform and educate. The problem is much larger than what appears in the news, including the social media outlets, as many cases go unreported. This therefore gives much credence to the appearance of an underestimated reality.
Many reasons have been made known for what can deter an abused victim from seeking the intervention of the law. Among them, in no specific order of impact, are aspects of culture, shame, dependency and its redounding lack of empowerment for some, and the lack of confidence in law enforcement itself precipitated from the reported trivialising of the issue in some instances.
While it is always heartening to hear that surviving victims and witnesses to such horrific incidents would be counselled, it would be very informative for the benefit of all to know the extent of what is available and offered. Realistically, expectations cannot be for what obtains in the developed nations; however, there must be something tangible, in keeping with available resources, with upgrades foremost in planning.
Given the plethora of incidents that unfortunately continue, and which would make added demands on the system, the question of adequacy of trained staff, needed facilities and support systems becomes more pertinent.
Again, we press the need for more stringent measures to be taken to help save women’s lives; since many of them continue to suffer and even die at the hands of their spouses or other persons close to them. The solutions are well known and have been fully ventilated in the media before, hence there is no need to rehash them here. Suffice to say that while Government must take the lead in helping to bring about change, everyone – civil society, faith-based organisations, Police, judiciary etc — must do what is required of them. Everyone needs to be more proactive in their response to the scourge.
Again, we call for a multisector and cross-ministerial approach that would result in community level activism to prevent this scourge.
While there is a disadvantage in being unable to accurately quote figures based on extensive research, if available, on the amount of people lost, injured and disfigured, and those scarred for life as a result of domestic violence, it must be extremely high in proportion to our population. Clearly, the highest number would be those who are left traumatised.
This therefore must be seen as a serious cause for concern, and a compelling reason for consideration to be declared a national priority. This is an apolitical issue, and is not confined to any one group, thereby making it less difficult to garner national support. In such small societies, the impact permeates throughout and away from just the families.
