$15M for domestic violence awareness campaign

BY Staff
Published: November 19, 2008 in News

President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday approved a $15M fund for the campaign to eliminate domestic violence.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Jagdeo made this disclosure during a consultation on the issue, hosted at Office of the President. About 25 organisations across several segments of society, including religious, trade unions, the private sector, the Guyana Bar Association, Guyana Association of Women Lawyers attended the session which aimed to develop a strategic approach to address domestic violence.

This session came closely on the heels of a consultation the Ministry of Human Services recently held targeting selected groups to raise awareness of the problem. NGOs that participated are expected to develop policies to deal with domestic violence at the level of their respective organisation and implement programmes to assist victims and promote access to relevant services. It is also expected that effective deterrents will be implemented to emphasise society’s condemnation of domestic violence.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand told GINA that some very useful suggestions were forthcoming at the meeting and organisations must collaborate. “What came out that was very useful was that we have to work with men and fathers more and you are going to see very visible work being done…,” she said. The minister said the meeting gave much hope since it was clear that everyone was on board to ensure that steps will be taken to stop domestic violence.
According to the release, the ministry will be working with both individual and collective organisations such as the labour movement and churches to chart the way forward.

Manickchand said if an organisation wanted to set a policy for its members or a particular target group government can support in crafting an appropriate policy that reflects the national policy on domestic violence but which contains a more useful and practicable approach to dealing with the persons from the said group.

The ministry will also be sensitising leaders of the various associations about its plans and about the various services that are available. Manickchand said “some organisations did not even know that we had legal aid services so we need to share some more information.” She said too that the most immediate move is to draw a plan of all the points that were made since “we don’t want to miss anybody’s input.” The minister said too her ministry has always been very diligent in implementing recommendations and suggestions. According to her the most immediate plan is to prioritise things that can be done in the short-term.

Meanwhile, President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana Carvil Duncan told GINA that the meeting was timely as domestic violence is affecting too many people. He also lauded the President’s approach to this issue particularly since though the problem cannot be eradicated, there are practical things that can be done in collaboration with other groups that can impact the frequency of such occurrences.

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12 Comments

evileyes says:

November 19, 2008 at 9:37 am

$15M for domestic violence awareness campaign
Mr.President you could spend the entire Guyana economy on domestic violence and it will not stop…..the only way to bring this plague to a crawl is for the justice system to work..until then you are just wasting tax payers money……

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- drumup_change says:
  
  November 19, 2008 at 1:49 pm
  
  ……….evil !!……..yu put yu foot in yu mouth.!!…..abbi government!!…….bloggers were saying this all the time…. it starts at the top………i recomend public flogging from to to botton in the national park ……..if you asult a woman of the land……..this law will soon pass………its called operation rubber doll..!!……if you cannot put your hands to good use……operation rubber doll will take them off……..so that you will know domestic abusers when you see them…….
michael tannassee says:

November 19, 2008 at 10:16 am

…….. ” MINDLESNESS ” is at the very core of domestic abuse !…… and it’s in every strata of the G’nese society,,,, aided by the contemporay culture ,,,,,,,nothing exceeds like excess !…….

FWRobertson,,, had this to say about ” responsibility ” !,,,,,

” responsibilty ,,,, is measured ,,, not by the ammount of injury resulting from wrong action ,, but by the distictness with which conscience has the opportunity of distinguishing between the right and,, the wrong ” !…….

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kabaka says:

November 19, 2008 at 10:29 am

I hope the authorities can be serious about”:effective deterrents to emphasise societys condemnation—”

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Fulano de Tal 174.151.159.16 not found says:

November 19, 2008 at 10:36 am

That campaign ought to be done at NO cost to taxpayers. People who are serious about helping with the epidemic as it has come to be recently, should do so voluntarily. The 15M could be used to setting up a safe haven for victims, we have the land resources for it.

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tiger says:

November 19, 2008 at 12:51 pm

a good move by the govt, but i believe this has come a bit too late, as i’ve said before that people has to die before the govt open their eyes to the seriousness of this type of crime, many people has died and badly beaten by domistic violence, i hope too that the justice system also consider the suggestion of increasing jail sentences of persons found guilty of domistic abuse and violence.

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- tiger says:
  
  November 19, 2008 at 1:54 pm
  
  the word should spell domestic instead of domistic.
SOESDYKE says:

November 19, 2008 at 2:29 pm

It is about time the government, do something about this disease called DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. I know that they can’t stop it over night, but reducing it, would be a good start. As with everything,education is the key, so they could start with the families. Then the JUSTICE SYSTEM, that sleeping at the wheels.

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UltimateW says:

November 19, 2008 at 3:08 pm

People need to retrained themselves in the correct way .
Government or not , domestic violence will not decrease just like that .

These social and religious organizations need to work with the government to create workshops within the communities , that will educate and train people about domestic abuse and how to deal with an abusive spouse or other family members. Interactions with people is what’s needed to help curb this crisis.

when a coward knows that a woman has someone to confide in ,he may think twice before abusing her, knowing that someone else knows about his abusive behaviour.

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malaika06 says:

November 19, 2008 at 9:17 pm

I would really like to know how this “awareness” Domestic Violence campaign will be operationalised? Will there be radio/tv spots, jingles, plays, posters, banners and endorsements by our young sports and professional personalities????

What is the plan to target parents, schools etc. And how the Trade Unions, Bar Association and Women’s Lawyers Association figure in all of this? To the best of my knowledge they have been SILENT for a very LONG TIME!!!!!!!!!!! Would they have a policy where they offer pro bono services to a victim in the event a retaliation results in prosecution?

I would like to see among other things, genuine grassroots organisations given resources to spot, aid and to some level intervene, under the religious umbrella, of course, whereever and whenever there is any hint of DV. After all. aren’t we “Our brothers’ keepers?”

A properly functioning and effective Safe House is LONG OVER DUE. I’m still waiting to hear of training programme, rather a special Task Force/Unit established within the Guyana Police Force to deal with reports of Domestic Violence.

Last but by no means least, the persistent calls for a drastic overhaul of our laws dealing with spouse assault, child assault ansd other crimes against women and children are more timely than ever.

So we can talk the talk for as long as we like, until we begin to walk the walk, we’ll just be fooling ourselves - putting plasters to festering sores.

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easyg says:

November 20, 2008 at 2:51 am

Will the police officers who own mini buses actually stop their driver from overloading their bus and drive the speed limit? just asking.

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evileyes says:

November 19, 2008 at 5:01 pm

drumup_change
i am glad yuh does read my comments….too bad i didnt put me foot in your mouth…..did you really say to me “abbi government? referring to me as my government? nah…i think yuh got de wrong person hey…..so instead me me putting me foot in yuh mouth yuh did a great job all by yourself putting your own foot in your own mouth…stop being so bitter and smile sometimes like im doing right now….

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