The pervasiveness of male dominance in Guyana places direct and personal responsibility on all males to take steps to dismantle the rules, habits and practices in their spheres of influence which control the behaviour of females, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) said yesterday in a message to commemorate International Day to Stop Violence Against Women (VAW).
The GHRA noted in a press release that there was a recurring theme in virtually all forms of violence against women and that was the controlling behaviour of males over females, which manifested in religious, cultural, professional, political and economic relations.
Because of this, the GHRA stated, men in leadership and prominent roles have an even greater responsibility in this respect.
It took the opportunity to comment on the ruling by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang in regard to a challenge to the Sexual Offences Act, which effectively declared paper committals to be in violation of the constitutional right of defendants to a fair trial. This was the second such ruling made by Justice Chang.
