–as national policy on domestic violence launched
After years of intensive groundwork, a national policy on domestic violence that seeks to transform attitudes and behaviours has been launched amid calls for broad support particularly in the area of law enforcement.
The violence numbers are too high and there are still many weaknesses in the system, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, said yesterday at the launch as he declared categorical support for the policy and pledged to, “get the Guyana Police Force working harder and acting more aggressively in this area”.
He said the reluctance often shown by the police with respect to taking reports on domestic violence and following up on cases, points to the fact that they [police] are products of a society that condones violence. But according to Rohee, the time has come for the police to get serious and for the society, particularly men, to do their bit in stamping out all forms of violence.
The five-year policy, which was launched by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand at the Tower Hotel under the theme, ‘Break the Cycle, Take Control’, is a government initiative that will inform and guide future interventions and programmes in the area of domestic violence at a governmental level.
According to Manickchand, it will not just be a policy on paper since government is fully committed to the transformation process, and she intends to push the policy while drawing on the support of other ministries, faith-based groups, non-governmental organisations, community groups and every citizen.
Figures released at the launch indicate a sharp increase in domestic violence reports in Berbice and a marked reduction in the city and on the East Coast but an overall increase in reported cases for 2007 when compared to 2006.
Around 3,627 reports were made last year while 1,708 were filed in 2006. However, a fair number of cases go unreported. In Berbice, around 300 cases were reported in 2006 but the police reported receiving 1,890 cases last year.
Thematic Areas
The policy contains eight thematic areas. The first pertains to the monitoring and enforcement of legal sanctions. Among the steps to be taken would be the review of the Domestic Violence Act and its implementation, providing the police force with the resources to establish and maintain domestic violence units in each division and the gazetting of competent social workers.
Under the provision of services for survivors, the policy envisages a common service protocol will be implemented involving the health, education and social services sector and the police force. “Reasonable access” will also be ensured by the government to temporary refuges for survivors and the government will ensure that there are appropriate legal aid services to support survivors throughout the country.
With respect to the health sector, all health services will be resourced to provide care to survivors of domestic violence and there will be a standard curriculum on domestic violence intervention.
Thematic area four entails the Ministry of Education working with the Ministry of Human Services to craft public awareness programmes to sensitise students on violence and abuse. Further, the government will support and endorse public education campaigns by apportioning free time on the state broadcast media for public service messages.
Other thematic areas are building the capacity of rural and hinterland communities to respond to domestic violence, intervening on behalf of persons with disabilities and elderly persons.
The final thematic area relates to the monitoring and evaluation of the policy’s implementation and will rely on data gathered from hospitals and health facilities, the police force, the courts and Ministry of Legal Affairs, non-governmental organizations and the Probation and Welfare Department and the Women Affairs Bureau in the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
Still many weaknesses
Rohee noted that if the issue of domestic violence is to be seriously tackled then effective legislation must be in place that would empower the police to act beyond the powers they currently have. He said the police must be able to act firmly and decisively after receiving reports.
The Domestic Violence Act already provides the necessary scope for action. A major bugbear for stakeholders and anti-violence advocates is that the police do not use the legislation in the way it is meant to be used.
The minister said that the system in general still has too many weaknesses, adding that one such is the weak monitoring of the perpetrators of violent acts.
“Domestic violence perpetrators should be monitored as we do with deportees who come back into the country,” he said.
He pointed to the lack of support systems being in place for victims of domestic violence noting that this is critical in the fight. Rohee said shelters need to be set up so that women and families who are in need can have a place to go.
According to him, the police are too reluctant when it comes to domestic violence reports and following up on them.
He spoke of making unscheduled visits to stations across the country and checking up on how ranks operate. Based on his findings, Rohee said many stations do things differently when handling domestic violence matters and pointed to some stations recording the reports in an occurrence book while others have a separate book. He said every station should have one book to record such matters separately.
Further, Rohee said, adequate resources to tackle the problem are lacking and this posed a great challenge.
Manickchand said the policy was another step in the battle and agreed that there are still many challenges.
She said the policy was informed by recommendations drawn from various sources including the National Women’s Conversation convened by the Ethnic Relations Commission in 2006.
She added that it would be implemented with vigor.
The policy is to be reviewed annually by an Oversight Committee. The committee will be responsible for monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policy and will issue an annual report outlining both successes and failures.
Those who did
not survive
The Rupununi Room at Hotel Tower was packed with persons who turned out for the launch, some from as far as Regions Eight and Ten. Calypsonian Lady Tempest moved the audience with a stirring performance of a piece aptly named, “Stop the Violence” and as her words rang out across the room, eyes were fixed on the mounted display of pictures of the faces of women, men and children who did not survive violence in the last year. Among them were little Sade Stoby from Mocha who was found dead aback the village. She had been sexually molested. There were also photographs of teenagers Omadella Peters and Donnis King; Eileen Lall; Nazleen Mohamed; Nastasha Ramen; Melissa Anthony; Basmattie Seecharran and Aloysia Bernard among 14 others. Also included in the display were newspaper articles dating back as far as 1996 but the recent headlines featured more prominently.
“Girl 9, murdered and dumped”; “Mother stabbed to death in front of her children”; “Rape convicts freed on appeal”; and “Woman remanded for beating child father”, were among some of the headlines.
Rohee is a poor role model for the force.
GOOD INITIATIVE, HOPE THE COURT AND POLICE ENFORCE THE LAWS ALREADY EXIST, AND ALSO HAVE MONEY AVAILABLE TO THESE ORGANIZATION TO DO THEIR JOB.
This is one of the biggest problem with Guyanese law enforcement. There is no morale and they are being underpaid so the community will be underserved.
OH boy! Here we go again. All the police will do is harass poor people. As long as you could put some $US in dem hand not a darn thing will happen.
Pay the police an better salary . an u will get the job done .an constable make like $30.000 to $35.000 per month GYD.THEY HAVE BILLS TO PAY LIKE ANY OTHER PERSON IN THE WORLD an man do the work how he get pay
AGREE WITH THE ABOVE COMMENT
A pay hike just like that??? Wait a second.
What are the requirement to become a Police Constable? A degree? A diploma? 4 CXC subjects? No. You just need to be literate and within a certain age group.
If they were to be paid 70,000-90,000 minimum then the Police force would be probably be adequately staffed. They would be better able to take care of their families and pay their bills. But would raising salaries unconditionally make them professional? Would they be better equipped to protect and serve? Would they stop taking bribes from drivers and conductors? Would they know how to deal with citizens less arrogantly and more politely? Would they now have the will to fight crime now that their salaries are better? Or are they just in it for the financial benefits?
My point is that a better salary is just one aspect of making the Force more professional. The Police force needs professionalism more than anything else.
First, Rohee, you have to get serious and stop mouthing words of notingness.
The dollar stops at your desk, so show some initiatives.
He does not know any better. Leaders are shaped and molded and elocution is not his strong suit. I think he is showing time and time again, that his appointment was not given too much thought.
rohee and company need to stop their follow patern culture, you cannot put in place domestic violence laws until you have paid servants to enforce them or the strong (the police) will pray on the weak.
sometome ago i wrote an article in a news papers in suriname called the caribbean eyewitness news that the guyana government should open a diplomat school to assist our diplomats, his ministry took credit for the idea.
i wrote about bridging the berbice river they took credit and made a big noise.
follow patern will not move us forward.
a long time ago i suggested that we were not ready for tv stations in guyana until we have laws and proper lawenforcement to protect the citizens, some people in government called me a fool, now look, we have american type crimes and we cannot handle it
We have a company as you refer too with no accountability for their actions. The company took on a job and had no plan for running the business. Guyana is suffering in all aspect of its society. This is one of the long standing issues which are still a part of teh fabric of Guyanese society . It took the year 2008 for their to be some plan of action…I hope it work’s, it will save a life.
Rohee what have you done to bring this force inline with other caricom states?
Nothing. Just alot of empty words and no plan of action.
The fact that you are still in charge goes to show how incompetient this regime is.
According to your last sentence, the PPP has something to identify with the PNC…Corbin I mean.
Rohee, i urging YOU to get serious…
WoW….it is 2008……There are now putting a plan into action for defenseless women. The Guyanese society is somewhat to blame for the abundance of domestic violence which is apart of every day life. If there were a no tolerance law to domestic violence many years ago man live could have been saved. I am in my late thirties, I remember many women in my village going to the station to file a report s of their husbands abusing them and then later have to suffer the same humiliation all over again. The reason this has been occurring in Guyanese society, is that there is no accountability in many of the local police stations to protect women. Their is still a plethora of ignorance, for example if he comes home and lunch or dinner is not finish, the women will get a beating for that. Many of these men do not know that raising children is a full time job as well. Until society perception changes in this regard, there will still be many women who will suffer as the hands of their spouses. The domestic policy agenda is a step in the right direction, but making it mandatory will take time. There is still hope for women and with hope there can be a solution to this long standing problem in Guyanese society.
I WONDER WHEN SENIOR MINISTERS BEAT THEIR WOMEN OR PULL GUNS ON THEM AS IS THE CASE IN RECENT TIMES, OR WHEN SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS BEAT FEMALE SUSPECTS FOR INFORMATION AS IS THE CASE RECENTLY
I agree with you BIGPRAFF. Everyone deserves a little blame for tolerating domestic violence but most of it goes to the government since they are now taking serious actions on this matter. Zero tolerance laws should have been in place many many years ago which could have prevented the death of victims who lost their lives due to domestic violence.
Another good thing undertaken by the government and a great step in demonstrating improvement and development in our country. Congratulations Mr. Rohee.
Domestic violence has for too long been a normal way of life to ppl in Guyana. Too many times women have been grossly advantaged, disrespected, beaten, raped, burned and killed by some coward/bully who claimed to love them. These male beasts, even if arrested would be freed only to return to repeat the same brutal acts all over again, and the police…a fifth wheel to a coach, reluctant to do anything. This nonsense should have been stopped a long time ago, the police and the courts does need to get serious about domestic violence on women and even minor children. I once witnessed a man beating his wife with a dry coconut because he ran out of impliments to beat her with, and neighbours just stood around doing nothing because he had just come from New York, they probably didn’t want to mess up their chance at what was in his suitcases. I couldn’t stand it so he had to feel some pain from me.
Good work Mr. Minister Rohee, get the police and the courts on stream to end this culture. Formulate a system where men convicted of domestic violence can enter a government data base where their names would be barred from any kind of government assistance, loans, grants, even lose their jobs, and for prospective employers to access the info to decide on hiring them. Treat them like we do them overhere because when they come here, they miraculously change from being abusive, even habitual drunkards immediately stop drinking when they come here, it’s so funny. Samething goes for those paedophiles, get them jailed.
My father once advised me as a boy that the best and most effective way to really hurt a woman (even if you have more than 1) was to treat her super, like a queen, special…a goddest during the relationship, so when you leave her she misses the good treatment and regrets the breakup. To a woman, regret losing the good things hurts more than the pain in her skin. A woman is much more stronger than a man, she can take any amount of blows, a man would die for the same amount of blows a woman gets, so why beat her. You will only hurt your hands in the process and probably get locked up, besides if you don’t beat her up when you break up, you can always get her back if you want to.
Guyanese men need to learn to be men and not bullies and cowards.
For the sake of our mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces….STOP THE VIOLENCE.
well said MACKYDOG.
Your explanitations are too long just like the Govt talk talk talk talk talk. My answer to this is stop the madness it starts from the top. Guyanese need sustainable jobs then there will reasonable peace with the ordinary man/woman. Rigt now most PPP supporters are reaping the benefits of the country to the exclusion of a majority of Guyanese.