Govt to conduct study on high rate of IPV , domestic abuse

The relatively high incidence of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse in Guyana has prompted further action by the Government, with a consultant now being sought to research the contributing factors behind these behaviours.
Under the Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme which seeks to address institutional issues affecting the country’s criminal justice systems, the consultant will be tasked with researching the socioeconomic breakdown of the contributing factors behind the high rate of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse from the period 2013 to 2022.
Consultants will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the Inter-American Development Bank: Policies for the Selection and Contracting of Consultants financed by the Inter-American Development Bank GN-2350-9 and will be in accordance with the principles of comparison based on Qualifications of National Individuals (QCNI).
Expressions of Interest applications must be submitted on or before July 18 to the Legal Affairs Ministry, Support for the Criminal Justice System Procurement Officer, 341 East Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Guyana.
For more information, persons can call telephone: (592)-226-1370 Ext. 204/ (592)-650-8803.
Domestic violence remains a major problem despite several interventions at various levels.
For the period January 1 to June 29, Guyana recorded a total of 82 murders of which 33 have been categorised as domestic. According to reports, 28 women were murdered in 2022, the majority by their husbands/partners. They were either shot, stabbed, beaten, or burnt.
Data from Guyana’s First National Survey on Gender-Based Violence released in 2019, showed that one in every two women in the country has or will experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in their lifetime. The survey revealed that more than 55 per cent of all women experienced at least one form of violence.
Meanwhile, recent research found that Guyana has the highest percentage of agreement with keeping IPV in the private realm of the seven countries in the Americas surveyed.
According to a Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) report, almost 62 per cent of Guyanese normalise IPV and agree that physical violence between couples is a private matter which should be handled by the couple themselves or their families.
The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, and Jamaica have intermediate levels of acceptance that are closer to the average 52 per cent while Peru has the lowest rate of agreement at 41 per cent. Acknowledging that domestic violence continues to be a major social problem, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, has said that the country’s Domestic Violence Act 1996 will be completely overhauled in an effort to tackle this social ill.
Proposed amendments to the Act include the need to include expansion of the definitions of domestic violence, including more comprehensive definitions of economic, emotional, and psychological violence; inclusion of batterer intervention programmes and counselling as remedies; and updating the penalties for breach of protection orders.
The Sexual Offences Act 2010 is expected to undergo a similar overhaul. (G1)