National programme to rehabilitate abusers needed

Dear Editor,
While the Government, NGOs, and other entities and institutions are increasingly focusing on redressive acts and measures to tackle gender-based and domestic violence, that focus is missing a key element.
It was the view of The Caribbean Voice that when Men on a Mission (MoM) was launched, gender-based and domestic violence as part of the holistic focus on violence would have been a significant component of the MoM mission.
The simple reality is that, no matter how much focus is placed on victims, the critical need is to stop the abuse; and this can really be done only by putting the abusers and the abused under the lens. A number of Caribbean nations, such as St. Lucia, Barbados and Bermuda, have started this process, and Guyana needs to play catch-up with a national batterers’ programme and campaign.
MoM is ideally placed to lead this charge, and thus should be provided with the requisite training, skills set, and resources.
Change the mindset of one abuser, and that person’s abuse stops. Help a victim as much as possible, and jail the abuser, but the potential for further abuse still remains; the victim has already been scarred for life, and in the case of femicide, the victim is no more.
So, we again say the Government and the related ministries must launch a national programme to rehabilitate abusers and sensitise other males, in order to change mindsets and behaviours towards our women folk. And as an editorial in one newspaper pointed out, this must be an inclusive process that also embraces the school; bend the willow while it’s young, as a native American saying goes.

Sincerely,
Annan Boodram