MoH, Police get 300 new evidence kits to combat sexual, gender-based violence

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be able to tackle sexual and gender-based violence cases proactively after a quantity of sexual assault evidence collection kits was handed over on Saturday.
The 300 kits, valued at $3.7 million, were part of the Justice Education Society project funded by Global Affairs Canada, titled “Strengthening Justice for Women, Girls, and Indigenous People” in Guyana.
It is expected that with these kits, both the Ministry and the Police Force will be able to combat sexual and gender-based violence in Guyana, with a focus on Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and the Commander of Regional Division 4C, Khali Pareshram received the donation.
Expressing gratitude to the Canadian High Commission for its steadfast contribution to the health sector, Minister Anthony highlighted that efforts were being made to train healthcare workers, especially those in emergency rooms, to conduct proper sexual assault evidence collection. He also disclosed that forensic testing capacity in health facilities was being developed.
“When cases do occur and they (persons affected by sexual violence) come to our institutions, we must have adequately-trained medical professionals to take the evidence in a format that can be acceptable in the court of law. On the side of the MoH, we certainly would work with our professionals to make sure that they are properly trained, especially those in our emergency rooms,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Head of Development Cooperation Guyana at the Canadian High Commission, Adam Loyer stated that the Canadian Government was committed to addressing the high rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Guyana.
Further, he added that with the donated kits, the health professionals will support the Police Force in responding to sexual and gender-based violence.
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 system, a consultant was tasked last year with researching the socioeconomic breakdown of the contributing factors behind the high rate of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse for the 2013-2022 period.
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.
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 would be completely overhauled to tackle this social ill.
Proposed amendments to the Act include the need to expand 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.