Dear Editor,
Rape is a weapon that is often used against us as women to defile us, and the raping of one of the nurses at Linden and the forcing of another to watch this violation was an attempt to do just that.
Red Thread expresses full solidarity with the nurses who faced such a dreadful ordeal at the Wismar Hospital in Linden, their place of work.
For those nurses to be attacked and one of them raped in the hospital compound shows the extent to which the security system was lacking. Those women could have lost their lives. The hospital administration and the Ministry of Health should take full responsibility for what happened to them.
This issue of security is one that all women have to face every day of our lives. As women we are mothers and caregivers who have the responsibility of ensuring the survival of the family, and to achieve this we are often forced to work under dangerous conditions. Many institutions like the hospital do not provide enough security for women workers.
The security firms who sell their services to most of these institutions are also to be blamed since they send other women to work at desolate posts in very dangerous areas, often without any real means of protection. We are not talking about them being armed with guns but about the inadequate number of guards (sometimes one), sent to work, especially at night. There is need for a much stronger security force at these locations at night.
Minister Kellawan Lall has said that systems have been put in place to boost security at the Linden hospital and that transportation is being provided to take nurses home. We support the call made by the nurses during their demonstration for a mobile police unit and we hope that this was being considered in the settlement.
We call on the Ministry of Health and all the others who are in authority not to wait until another incident like this happens somewhere else before security and transportation could be provided for nurses at the other hospitals across Guyana.
We appreciate the quick action of the police in apprehending a perpetrator and an alleged perpetrator.
Yours faithfully,
Cora Belle Roberts
For Red Thread
