On November 25, Guyana joined the rest of the world in observing International Day for the Eli-mination of Violence against Women and began the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence that culminates annually on Human Rights Day, December 10. The hopeful event included tree-wrapping, speeches, skits, dance, poems, songs and even painting a section of the Camp Street avenue orange, symbolising a brighter future, free of violence.
A week later, 42-year-old Omadai Lall called Samantha lay dead, brutally murdered by her common-law husband at Hill Foot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway. The police, who managed to apprehend the man right away, divulged that prior to her death, Samantha had been subjected to constant domestic abuse.
In a speech to launch the local observance, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud revealed that there had been an increase this year in the reports made to Guyana’s 914 domestic abuse hotline. She surmised that this was proof that people were taking the reporting of gender-based violence more seriously. What would have been both helpful and hopeful was data which showed how many of the approximately 12,000 callers were assisted; how many are now safe from violence as a result of having made the call. In other words, the success stories were missing.
That being said, realistically, the surge in 914 calls could also point to an uptick in domestic violence. There is no way to know definitively which it is unless the data is thoroughly analysed. However, what is clear from anecdotal evidence, including newspaper reports, is that there has not been a concomitant reduction in the number of women murdered by their partners to match the escalating 914 reports.
Samantha, for instance, never managed to call 914; or if she did she was unable to escape her violent circumstances alive.
On Monday this week, 45-year-old Berbice resident Karen Mickel related her plight to this newspaper. Bravely allowing a photograph of her battered face to be published along with the story, Karen’s recourse to the press was to plead with the police to arrest her former reputed husband. Having lived with domestic abuse throughout their 18-year relationship, the Liverpool Village, Corentyne woman recently walked away only to find herself being stalked and attacked. Reports to the police have so far resulted in the usual cock-and-bull story trotted out at police stations where the apparent motive is to frustrate rather than assist victims.
Furthermore, Karen’s experience with the Whim Police Station is at odds with the speech delivered by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravindradat Budhram at the November 25 event. “… There is a hands-on approach on these domestic violence matters,” DCP Budhram was quoted as telling the gathering, referring to divisional commanders’ involvement. That is definitely not the case at Whim. Hopefully, Mr Budhram is hands-on enough and has already personally followed up Karen’s complaint. Given the direction these cases often take and in view of the threats issued, a woman’s life could very well be hanging in the balance here.
A new report from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) released on November 30, noted that more needed to be done to address violence against women, which it referred to as a “pervasive public health and human rights problem in the region of the Americas”. The report, which assessed the status of health sector responses to violence against women, called for a multisectoral effort to tackle the issue, which affects an approximate 66 million women and girls in the region.
Further, a study on femicide conducted by UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated that more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their own family last year. Minister Persaud quoted the figures from this study in her speech to note that her ministry and the government were fully aware of them. What was also reiterated at the launching of both the PAHO and the UN Women/UNODC reports was that the murders of women and girls are preventable.
Interestingly, DCP Budhram claimed in his speech that based on the police’s homicide records, alcohol was a common factor in local domestic violence murders. If that is indeed the case, then it would appear that cause and effect have been identified to some extent, which begs the question as to why nothing is being done with this information. Mr Budhram referred to it as a major issue that needs to be addressed, but did not say by whom. Are the police waiting on the government to act? Will the government act on this information? Just who will bell this particular cat?
It has already been established that tackling gender-based violence requires a multisectoral approach – social, welfare, law enforcement, justice, health and other sectors have to work together. Even more than that, the people involved must be fully invested in keeping girls and women safe. Unfortunately, this is not a statement that can be used with any amount of confidence with regard to all of the sectors mentioned.
Proactivity in addressing this pervasive scourge is obvious in the programmes currently being executed by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. The EU/UN Spotlight Initiative responsible for the 914 hotline, the iMatter app, the Survivors’ Advocate Programme, the Survivors’ Kit, the Safe Voucher programme and the Legal Pro-bono 500 project along with training and collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are worth mentioning here. However, to date, law enforcement appears not to be on the same page. Despite its claims, the GPF falls far short of practising zero tolerance for gender-based violence. Its motto of service and protection is also tarnished in this regard and could benefit from a bit of spit and polish.
Suffice it to say that until every sector gets its act together, we will continue to mark time while women continue to be battered, maimed and murdered. Our women and girls deserve better. Our nation deserves better.
