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National Conference on violence… Manickchand urges more focus on victims
Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand has said the emergence of more reprehensible patterns of violence towards women and children has underscored the need to focus on the victims.
Manickchand was speaking at the National Conference on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Children.
“We will not be able to fully prevent deviant human behaviour but we must be able to put measures in place to deal with it effectively,” Minister Manickchand noted.
She said domestic violence is an issue that can be fixed but only with determined effort.
According to Manickchand, strategies aimed at erasing violence are important in terms of not only reducing the ill but preventing it.
“Whatever the strategies that are decided on, we must ensure that they are seen as deterrents,” the Human Services Minister said.
Minister Manickchand encouraged parents and guardians to educate themselves on the laws as well as the social services available to them.
Deputy Superintendent, Derrick Josiah, in his presentation on the role of the police, emphasized the need for ranks to entertain all reports of domestic violence.
Josiah stated that the Guyana Police Force is working with other social partners to reduce the level of domestic violence and child abuse nationally.
The Officer disclosed that the Force has also adopted a zero tolerance approach to such behaviour. He stressed that the police must provide necessary support to abused victims while lending aid in reforming perpetrators.
Josiah pointed out that violence is a workplace issue since it affects the performance of employees and their levels of productivity.
“The GPF recognises that domestic violence affects a higher proportion of women than men…It affects all sections of the society, including children, the elderly and persons with disabilities,” the police officer said.
He expressed hope that the domestic violence policy would contribute to an improvement in respecting citizens’ rights.
Josiah stated that ranks must consider appropriate action in terms of recording reports, conducting interviews in private, and escorting victims for medical attention.
According to him, the police must visit the scene, arrest the perpetrator, note perpetrators response, and hold a confrontation if necessary.
The Deputy Superintendent noted that to date trainers in all divisions have been trained.
He added that the police force has also begun training recruits at the Felix Austin Police Academy.
According to Josiah, society generally frowns on acts of violence and has often accused police of inappropriate action.
“However, there is some level of division in terms of their expectation of the police in dealing with these issues.”
Basically, Josiah said, society expects police to arrest perpetrators, ensure the safety of the victim, prosecute perpetrator and display high levels of confidentiality.
He related that others only hope for police to warn the perpetrators but at the same time keep out of the family affairs.
Josiah said there are several factors impeding the effectiveness of the police including the reluctance of victims to press charges.
He detailed that some victims are even unwilling to report the matter and or are inclined to discontinue criminal proceedings.
“The institutionalization of training in domestic violence has laid the foundation for members of the force to be sensitized and respond professionally to reports of domestic violence,” Josiah said.
However, he stated that continued collaboration with stakeholders is necessary to reduce or eliminate incidents of domestic violence.
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