Dear Editor,
As a nation we should be more compassionate about the plight of women and girls.
‘Girl 26 found with throat slit’; this was one of the front-page stories of Kaieteur News, on Friday, November 28. It would turn out that Creavone Thorne’s end involved greater torture, as the PM report concluded that manual strangulation was the cause of death.
I made many attempts to understand the fear involved in having one’s life taken in such a manner; I would fail in my attempts. However, having a niece whose end came in such a cruel way, I did understand. There was the emptiness of the loss that came over my brother and his wife, and I didn’t think my mother would survive. As for myself, I may have to ask God almighty to give me strength (like the father of 13-year-old Kavita Panday, whose battered body was found in a trench a few months ago), to ensure that vigilante justice stays far from my thoughts.
Following that tragic incident, I began to ask friends (both men and women) what their thoughts were about domestic violence, in particular violence against women and girl children. What was clear was that many people were totally unaware of the prevalence of this frightening phenomenon, where the battered bodies of women and girls are being found in trenches and along roadsides all over Guyana. In a letter earlier this year I had asked if many Guyanese had become unwitting fans of this spiralling crisis; it would appear that not only are they not conscious about violence against women and girls but many have become accustomed to such brutal acts. This is a very dangerous attitude to adopt, as it takes away from the seriousness of the problem.
After a few days or weeks the police apprehend the perpetrator or else the case goes cold, but the issue is removed from our notice until the next front-page headline, which may be similar or worse, appears. This is why as a society there is blame enough to go around, and the sooner this is realized, the faster we can act collectively to help stop violence against our women and girl children.
Almost every week, for the past few months a woman or girl has lost their life at the hand of a man in the cruellest manner. Many live to tell their horror stories, and this number far exceeds those who don’t make it. The position taken by the President, to bring stakeholders together and pledge $15M must be commended, although it is most unlikely that much can be achieved with that amount, as the scope of this problem is way beyond $15M. There must be a more proactive approach, with more social programmes to properly educate both men and women about this situation.
The Ministry of Human Services has been making some efforts to help reduce this problem, but they have failed to arrest it. At the launching of the National Policy on Domestic Violence earlier this year, hosted by the Minister of Human Services, the Minister of Home Affairs conceded that more effective and aggressive policing was required. The police must recognize that they are the last line of defence for these women.
In the case of Nafeeza Khan who was stabbed to death in front of her one-month-old baby, it was reported by her family that they had made several reports of abuse to the La Grange Police Station, but they were given the run around, and at times redirected to the authorities in Georgetown, who would say that there was lack of transportation.
Women are no less responsible for their own lives; there is absolutely no reason for battered bodies to be turning up in trenches or disfigured women having to tell their stories from their hospital beds. One woman had her skull fractured but was unwilling to say if her husband had done that to her. But as a society we must ensure that when those women decide to act responsibly, systems are in place to assist them.
As a nation we should be more compassionate towards the plight of this vulnerable group. The bodies being found around the country should provoke everyone to action to help stop the pandemic. Something to think about: in 2006 there were just over one thousand (reported) cases of domestic violence; in 2007 there were over three thousand five hundred cases (in 90% of these cases women and girls were the victims); 2008 does not look good.
Yours faithfully,
Sharma Solomon
