We might as well face it. The Domestic Violence Act of 1996, hailed back then as being a progressive piece of legislation, has failed. It has failed women, scores of whom have since died at the hands of their partners and scores more who were being abused as this column was being written. It has failed the society at large – taxpayers whose money financed its making – because people expect laws to bring about positive change. It has failed because it has never really been fully enforced.
As it stands now there clearly is need for changes to be made in how things work with regard to domestic violence. Two major aspects of this would be amending the DV Act and ramping up its enforcement once amended. The former makes no sense without the latter.
In practically all of the recent cases of women dying at the hands of their husbands/partners, there have been reports – made public after the fact – that their unions were replete with ‘years of violence.’ The stories varied – in some reports were made to the police and were ignored; reports were made and withdrawn; cases reached the court and complainants refused to offer evidence or changed their stories – but the endings were mostly the same. Few, if any, of the women who remain in extremely violent relationships live to tell their stories; they are often related by grieving relatives.
It is a well known fact that battered women tend to remain in or return to the abusive situations they ought to run from. The thing is, do we – as in the police, the legal system, the government welfare system, the anti-violence advocates – throw up our hands and say “that’s what they want/deserve”? Or is it our duty to try and save them from the situations and in the process from themselves through educating, counselling, empowering and protecting them? We all know the right answers to these questions. We are fully aware that at present this is not the case and that there are some cracks in the DV Act of 1996 that legally would prevent this from happening.
The other question we must ask, but can only answer ourselves, is how much longer are we going to be content to sit on our hands while the brutal madness continues? Does it have to visit us or get too close for comfort before we act?
Following the recent death of 29-year-old mother of three Bridgette Gangadin, which subsequently turned into a saga before she could be cremated, it emerged that she was doubly unfortunate. Not only was she a child bride, betrothed at 13 years old and married not long after, but it has been established with corroboration by several people that her life had been a turbulent one, owing mainly to constant battery at the hands of her husband.
Bridgette’s life mirrored that of several women over the years.
The recent similar cases included that of (1) Okema Todd, a 20-year-old mother of two of Ketley Street, Charlestown, who had been constantly battered and died of knife wounds to the body on March 1. (2) Esther ‘Kamla’ Albert, 44, of Grant 1803 Crabwood Creek, who was pronounced dead on arrival at the Skeldon Hospital on March 1 following a severe beating from her husband the evening before. (3) Jairool ‘Chico’ Rohoman, 42, who was found dead, floating in a canal at Canje, Berbice on March 7. She had been hog-tied and her hair shaved off and used to bind her. Reportedly a battered woman for several years she had ended the relationship, but kept going back to help her former partner with household chores. (4) Jacqueline George, 57, a newspaper vendor of 120 ‘E’ Field Sophia, who perished in a fire which razed her home on March 14. It later emerged that her hands had been tied behind her back and her throat might have been slit. George had been battered in the past and had received death threats from her partner. (5) Liloutie ‘Pinky’ Seeram, a 32-year-old battered mother of two, was killed by way of a chop to the back of her head with three fingers on her left hand being severed during a domestic row on March 27. Her mother, Lata ‘Cheryl’ Inderdeo, 52, was also chopped but survived.
We have only looked at the month of March this year. There are numerous other examples, but these serve to make the point. Not much has happened since President Bharrat Jagdeo’s broad-based consultation in November 2008 and his announcement of a $15 million fund which various non-governmental organisations would have access to for domestic violence awareness campaigns. Was this money accessed by NGOs? What programmes were addressed? How successful were they? If not, why not? This is the kind of information that would be crucial to making strides in the local campaign to curb domestic violence.
We know that DV and its extreme cases which end in death are not just a Guyana problem. We agree that DV is an international atrocity, but that is no reason for us to mark time. The demoralization and loss of life involved makes it one that should be a top priority for all of us.
