– facilitator
Domestic Violence 101, a training programme for faith-based religious leaders, was launched yesterday with facilitator Dr Cecil Mercurious saying that the partnership between government and religious leaders could result in domestic violence cases dropping by 40 per cent within six months.
Speaking to scores of religious leaders gathered in the National Cultural Centre for the formal opening of the programme, Mercurious said that if all the parties worked together, in six months, “we can reduce domestic violence by 40 per cent in the nation”.
Government has invested $15 million to train 600 religious leaders. Dr Mercurious, who heads the New York-based Overseas Faith-based Religious Leaders Council and a team, will be conducting the week-long training sessions, using a special module that has been modified for the local setting.
Dr Mercurious explained that the purpose of the exercise is to ensure that after the training, the religious leaders would become volunteers committed to tackling violence in the communities and being involved in conflict resolution in the family. He said too that those persons trained would be expected to work closely with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in its campaign against domestic violence and would be involved in studies to find out what is the root of domestic violence. He also said that examinations would be done to see how gender-biases, particular as these relate to religious teachings, contribute to the phenomenon.
Local facilitator Rev Kwame Gilbert described the programme as representing the “new dispensation in the country” which showcased a form of maturity in the nation.
He urged participants to hold on to their religious views but encouraged them never to use religion as an excuse for apathy as it relates to the nation’s development.
The feature address was delivered by President Bharrat Jagdeo who said that a single case was too much to have in Guyana. “Domestic violence is very demeaning. It is very demeaning,” he said.
“We can’t say we believe in equality and treat women, in particular, in an inhumane way. If one child is abused or if one woman is abused…that is too much for us.”
The President’s statement drew applause from the audience, which included members of his cabinet. President Jagdeo himself has been accused of domestic abuse and has not answered the allegations. Critics have said that this limits his credibility in this matter.
Jagdeo said religious leaders have an important role to play in curbing the problem, particularly at the community level.
The President called for the root causes of violence to be tackled and said that the way persons are socialized will have to be changed.
He also expressed concern at the state of boys in the country, while noting that the wider Caribbean was also affected by this same problem.
“What is happening to our boys?” the President asked rhetorically stating that from the time many reach 14 they fall prey to negative influences.
He noted that in many cases the church, mosque or temple could “be the second home” for many children when the first home fails them. “We need a societal response not a government response,” Jagdeo urged.
Pointing to the recent killing of Neesa Gopaul, the President said that some of the government systems failed the child because of negligence and that should the religious leaders take a stand, such situations would not happen.
Jagdeo urged religious leaders to go out more in the community, saying that there were many people out there who needed help.
He also urged them to preach sermons which address social issues while relating them to their various religious texts.
According to the President, his government has been implementing measures to ensure that those who suffer from domestic violence have alternative pathways.
He said that these avenues should be emphasized during the training programme.
This initiative has its origin in a trip made by Jagdeo to the US in 2004. There, he met members of the Guyanese Diaspora and made a commitment with them to work towards national security.
The President also pledged to develop initiatives which would see faith-based religious leaders collaborating with the government to address social ills. In April this year, Dr Mercurious had suggested that a partnership be formed to deal specifically with the issue of domestic violence.
An attendee at yesterday’s opening ceremony told this newspaper that while he was not a religious leader, he attended the opening ceremony because of his interest on the issue.
The man, who chose not to give his name, said he conducts lectures at tertiary institutions on marriage and the family. While hailing the initiative as a good one, the man said that the success of the programme would depend on the intensity of the training in addition to the type of response the leaders get when they go into the communities.
Abbass Mancey, who was representing the Baha’i community, said that the training of religious leaders could be seen as an attempt to get “a national response” to the problem.
“There needs to be much more people involved in addressing violence in the community.”
According to him, the key to this being successful is the sustainability of the initiative, and the organizers have promised to ensure that follow up meetings and programmes are held.
Mancey, who is also the Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Policy Unit at the Ministry of Human Services, said it was important to have several persons in the community who could be called upon to offer assistance when issues of domestic violence arise.
Recently, 14 religious bodies signed a joint communiqué taking a zero tolerance stand against domestic violence and pledging to partner with the social service and law enforcement agencies towards eradicating the factors which lead to the phenomenon.
They also agreed to take part in this training programme and the 600 religious leaders being trained are drawn from Regions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10.
