Local religious leaders yesterday agreed to be more active in helping to curb domestic violence and have indicated their willingness to be part of a Standard Training programme specifically designed to sensitize and equip them to deal with the issue.
A forum was held yesterday at the Office of the President (OP), where local religious leaders and a delegation of Faith-based leaders from the US met with representatives of the government to discuss domestic violence and the role of the religious community.
The team from the US was led by Dr Cecil Mercurious who is the head of Overseas Faith-based Religious Leaders Council. Leaders of the local and overseas groups met with Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon and Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira. PPP/C MP Pastor Kwame Gilbert facilitated the meeting.
Addressing the gathering, which consisted of a few dozen persons, Gilbert stressed that the forum was not a “knee-jerk reaction to social problems in the country.” He described it as part of a process, while outlining that the engagement was seeking to provide a Standard Training programme specifically designed for Faith-based religious leaders of all faiths and religious persuasion. This programme is supposed to sensitize and equip the leaders regarding their role and responsibility in addressing violence within their communities.
The initial projected outcomes of yesterday’s meeting were: to sign a joint communiqué by representatives of all religious groups, declaring a Zero Tolerance on Domestic Violence; to receive input from heads/representatives of the various groups on the specific design, components or features of a training module; and to identify particular hurdles to the training programme.
Following the almost three-hour meeting, Gilbert told Stabroek News last evening that the leaders did not sign on to the communiqué as had been hoped. It was agreed that they would go back to their constituencies first before signing the document. Gilbert, however, explained though that “there was general agreement” that the leaders had to be more actively involved in addressing domestic violence. He said that when examining the hurdles, the issue of the response of the police was highlighted and it was agreed that if the problem is to be overcome it was necessary that the religious leaders work together with the police.
Gilbert said that another meeting is slated for next week where the communiqué is expected to be signed. He said that at this session the leaders would be looking at the training module, to see how it could be localized. He said the overseas delegation was invited because they have expertise with such training programmes and would have their own module.
The training programme is expected to take place in the last week in October. This training will be open only to religious leaders but the intention is to have these leaders train others later.
Explaining the origin of the project, Gilbert said President Bharrat Jagdeo, during one of his trips to the US in 2004, had met with members of the Guyanese Diaspora and made a commitment with them to work towards National Security. Gilbert explained that the President also made a pledge to develop initiatives which would see faith-based religious leaders collaborating with the government to address social ills. Gilbert explained that it was on this premise that the Overseas Faith-based Religious Council was invited to Guyana. While appearing before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland last week, Teixeira had disclosed that “a new intervention with Guyanese faith-based organizations in the Diaspora and those in Guyana in partnership with the Ministries of Human Services, Health, Education (and) Home Affairs, to prevent and reduce domestic violence will commence in October this year.”
The media was initially allowed to sit in at yesterday’s meeting but within 15 minutes of the start a sudden instruction was given for media workers to leave. Members of the media, through an advisory issued by the Government Information Agency, were initially invited to OP to cover the observation of Faith Day, by Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
