More should be done to protect women and girls in our society

Jun 11, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
It would appear as though many Guyanese have become unconscious fans of a spiralling crisis, which continues to be treated as a ‘dark secret’ in our society. By this, I mean violence against our women and girl children.

It is as if we have unleashed a war against our women in the most violent manner; with the end results being battered, scared (both physically and physiologically), and in some cases dead women or girl children.

This violence is also responsible for fractured communities, and stifles development, as it makes us look like a backward nation (similar to ways cavemen treated their women).

I am a 28-year-old Guyanese male living in Linden. I consider myself to be trendy. The reason I feel compelled to mention that is because it should not matter what your age, ethnicity, sex, geographical location, and what lifestyle you live.

The violence being inflicted upon our women and girl children should agitate emotions in all of us into actions to find solutions to stop this violence from occurring.

It is important to note that these crimes being perpetrated against our women are not isolated or restricted to a few parts of Guyana. Every community has been affected by this.

Only last year, Linden saw a series of such attacks, where lives were also lost. Today, this threat still exists, as some of the perpetrators are not yet caught.

In Guyana, violence against women and girls is a problem that has reached pandemic proportions.
The news over the past weeks has left me fearful of what might be in store for our mothers, daughters, and sisters; as every woman is that to someone.

Here is a glimpse of what has been prevailing in our society over the last decade. These are incidents that happened within the last two months.

A 22-year-old woman from Enmore, East Coast Demerara had her throat slit, allegedly by her husband, during a domestic row.

An 18-year-old woman from the Corentyne Coast is gang-raped and murdered (her assailants left her to drown in a canal). A 22-year-old handicapped woman from the West Bank of Demerara is allegedly raped by someone that is known to her family. She is offered $65,000 to keep the matter out of the courts.

An 18-year-old woman, according to a post mortem examination, was electrocuted, allegedly by her lover, during a domestic dispute. A 79-year-old blind woman from Wakenaam Island, in the Essequibo, is raped and murdered by a 17-year-old, who allegedly confessed.

A 71-year-old woman from East Coast Demerara first had a pillow placed over her face, when she managed to get free from that, she was repeatedly beaten in the face, allegedly by her tenant, after she evicted him from her property (she survived).

There may be many more unreported cases. This is why violence against women and girl children is referred to as a ‘dark secret’.

It would be an insult to women for me to say that I understand their fears; but what I can say is, as a society, we should not have one of the most vulnerable groups living with such fears. Our existing laws need to be more effectively enforced, with new laws being established.

This violence did not just appear out of thin air. As such, data collection and research are very important in helping us understand the magnitude of this situation, and come up with solutions. It is important for us to find ways to stop this violence before it starts.

Guyana has once again found itself on the “Tier 2 Watch List,” as trafficking in women and girls continue, especially in our Amerindian villages. This is an act that exposes more women and girls to violence, which goes unreported in most cases.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the work being done by the Ministry of Human Services, organisations such as Help and Shelter, and others who recognise that there is no place for violence against women and girl children in our society. However, much more needs to be done.

Sharma Solomon

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