Hope and Justice Centre receives boost to fight against GBV

The Guyana Government’s Hope and Justice Centre recently commissioned at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) has received a boost from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
On Tuesday, the UNDP handed over a substantial quantity of equipment to the Human Services and Social Security Ministry under the Spotlight Initiative.
Among the items were a range of essential tools such as laptops, desktops, audio speakers, and tablets.

During her address to those gathered at Lusignan, Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud disclosed that the majority of the equipment would be utilised to operationalise the Hope and Justice Centre.
These technological assets will significantly enhance the capacity of the Ministry and its partners in providing comprehensive support to survivors of GBV.

On this point, Dr Persaud indicated that the donation would strengthen Guyana’s response mechanisms, reaffirm its collective resolve to eradicate this pervasive issue, and create a safer, more inclusive society for all.
“The Hope and Justice Centre will significantly benefit from all that you are providing to us today, so it becomes an efficient working operation where persons can access hope in the form of psychosocial support, counselling, medical intervention, legal intervention, and yes, even make a Police report right here,” Persaud said.

Further, the remaining electronics will be set aside for the Hope and Justice Centres slated to be built in Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Minister Persaud said the facilities would be ready before the end of the first quarter of 2024 and would aid in data collection on GBV cases.
“Now, moving forward in a modern world, we must have digitising of records. We must have not only the collection of data, but the analysis of data. We must also have the generation of reports. So, that pillar that UNDP was responsible for continues to give. Because, prior to this, we also received technical support to develop the software that we need and tablets to collect that data,” Minister Persaud explained.
The handover ceremony was graced by esteemed guests, including UNDP Resident Representative for Guyana, Gerardo Noto and UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator Linda Maguire, the Deputy Director for the Caribbean.
During her brief remarks at the ceremony, the Deputy Director for UNDP in the Caribbean elucidated that the act of data collection was vital to uproot the causes of GBV in all countries.
In this regard, she signalled the organisation’s commitment to work along with the Ministry to improve and expand its capacity to generate, analyse, and produce data.
“At the end of the day, initiatives like these are intended to get at the root causes of the problem while at the same time attending to survivors and giving them the tools that they need. The Spotlight Initiative – I have had a chance to see it in several countries in the Caribbean and it’s great to see how it is being implemented,” Maguire said.

GBV and human trafficking training
Through the Spotlight Initiative, Guyana has made significant strides to combat GBV.
In 2023, 14,300 GBV reports were lodged through the 914 toll-free hotline.
Of that number, 418 were related to domestic violence and 83 were sexual offences reports; however, only 150 of the said reports were significant.
In response, 74 persons benefited from shelter support and over 1000 persons received free legal advice, through the Ministry and the Guyana Bar Association’s pro-bono project.
As a result, 20 persons were represented in court and about 10 per cent of the reports were resolved at the level of the Judiciary.
Moreover, a total of 2688 persons were assisted through the survivor advocate programme, more than 1000 frontline personnel were trained to identify trafficking in persons ,and 1500 persons were trained in 2023, through the community advocates’ network, to assist with reporting, support and identifying persons they believe are being abused.
Some 2456 GBV victims also received crisis counselling and 1851 received court support while 100 social workers were trained in GBV. (G1)