ROC enlightens school children about violence against women

Nov 22, 2010 News

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Schoolchildren were among several persons who marched yesterday from the Bank of Guyana to the seawall bandstand to highlight the issue of violence against women.

The march was organised by the Rights of the Child Commission (ROC).
Some of the schools that braved the weather were Marians Academy, School of the Nations, Queenstown Secondary, St John’s College, Christ Church, and Central High School.
Under the theme “Break the silence and say no to violence,” Red Thread, and several organisations, have been organising a rally to be used as a catalyst to curb this blot on social life.
The rally is scheduled to be held on November 25 at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Among those spearheading this event are former First Lady, Varshnie Singh, NGO representative Dianne Madray and Kaieteur News columnist Stella Ramsaroop.
According to the ROC, studies have revealed that the level of violence in teenage relationships in the Caribbean is among the highest in the world.
According to coordinator of ROC, Teshanna Cox, a recent study in Britain found that over half of 14 and 15-year-olds have been humiliated in front of others by someone they were going out with. And nearly 50 percent of all age groups surveyed said they knew someone who had their cell phones and emails checked by their boyfriend, or had been told not to go somewhere.
“We don’t have such studies here in Guyana, but we know that controlling behaviour of this kind is very common. Girls accept possessiveness and jealousy, flattery and think this is what relationships are all about. This often leads to girls being forced into sexual activity she does not want in order to keep a boy-friend.” Cox said.
She explained, women and girls spend a good part of the day listening to stupid remarks from men; some examples are when females are being spoken to by men in offices, stores, clubs, cafes, shops, schools, church, supermarkets, sports clubs, gyms, parks, malls and playgrounds.
“With everyday ordeals like these why are we surprised that so many situations end violently.”
The ROC coordinator noted that there is a lack of awareness by parents and society of what young people are really facing and often girls who are victims of sexual and other forms of abuse.
“So while it seems obvious that the best thing to do is to tell someone if you feel you are being sexually harassed, or physically threatened, it is often more complicated than it seems.”
Cox recommended that society should start by helping both boys and girls understand masculinity better, acknowledge that the sexist culture saturating society “thoroughly penetrates our schools and promotes all kinds of unacceptable behaviour from boys.”
She further recommended that children should be educated about healthy relationships and what is inappropriate behaviour.
“Children and young people who live in domestic abuse situations are unable to fully participate in school life. Their anger and distress may also lead them to bully other pupils, and educational attainment often suffers.”
“ROC believes that we should not expect the adult generation to resolve the problems of sexual violence. Like the environment, this is an issue young people must take a lead on and force the adult generation to adjust itself accordingly. We can influence what goes on in schools and we can develop the kind of healthy relations whether the adult world is interested or not. We can be more powerful than we think if we work together and respect each other. It is not just stopping violence; it is building respect and supporting each other. We can be more powerful than we think if we work together and respect each other,” Cox stated.
Miss Guyana Universe, Tamika Henry, who is also a member of the ROC, said violence against women is nothing new, and it has existed since the beginning of man and has been recorded since the days of slavery.
According to Henry, over time there have been conferences, various legislations have been passed, many laws enforced and multiple campaigns launched to eliminate the problem. The effort has been made by the different organisations such as the GHRA, the United Nations, Red Thread, Help and Shelter and every other NGO that has anything to do with women whatsoever.
“So then why does the problem still persist?”
She said Guyana on the whole is aware of the problem of violence against women. “And unfortunately, we are made even more aware as we ever so often read the many horror stories in local newspapers about women being abused, many times fatally, in our society.”
“So today, I’m going to blame us for what’s happening. I’m going to blame all of you here, I’m going to me, I’m going to blame the men, I’m going to blame the women and most of all, I’m going to blame our culture. And while I am not against traditional family setting of a man being the head of the household, I do advocate that the woman also be empowered in the household. She should be able to speak up, to help in the decision making, to say when she is dissatisfied and to be able to leave when the situation is unfixable.”
Radica Thakoor, the mother of Sheema Mangar, the murdered Demerara Bank employee, said murderers and bandits should not be on the front pages of the local media since it glorifies them, however, the inhumane treatment of women should not be accepted in society, since the violent loss of a loved one should not be forgotten but learned from to prevent further occurrences.

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