Rape – the sexual violence which faces us

Feb 10, 2013 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Latchmin Punalall
AFC Executive Member & Women For Change – Chairperson

Spanning the history of humanity, women have always united to fight for their rights and the chance of a better life. Socially, we elegantly fulfill the four-fold role of being mother, sister, daughter or wife. Professionally, we serve in almost any field, including the military.
Guyana has always been blessed with productive women who took great pride and joy to stand by our men as we executed these significant roles. Many things help us along, and many things also hinder us as we tread the path of womanhood. Rape has been one of the attacks which has always filled our hearts with fear, and in Guyana, this scourge seems to be on the steady rise.
We should not give our women and girls a false sense of security by minimizing and/or denying the frequency of sexual violence which now faces us. I recall sitting in the Parliamentary Social Services Committee during 2006-2011 and raising the issue of gang violence and other forms of rebellion rising in our school system. The matter was played down then and today we are forced to address a problem which could have been nipped in the bud.
Let us not make the same mistake when it comes to rising levels of sexual violence in our country. Every Guyanese woman should be free to have a quiet evening at home, to ride in a bus, to take an evening walk in the park, to enjoy the fresh air at our seawalls or seashore or to enjoy any other healthy, pleasurable activity. The thought of being preyed upon by a rapist robs us of our God-given right to enjoy peace and tranquility in our homeland. This is made even more painful when we think of the pressure, difficulties, and unhappiness which come with living in third world Guyana.
We all know that rape is more common than people think because there are so many cases which go unreported. Sometimes the perpetrators are wealthy and have no difficulty making a financial settlement. We must accept that rape represents a form of gender inequality. Most perpetrators are male and most victims are female. It is both a consequence and cause of gender inequality. It results in immediate and long lasting harm to victims.
Immediate consequences include physical injury, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, and even suicide. Long term consequences include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, eating disorders and obesity. When a child is the victim it can also impact on educational attainment and school attendance.
For genuine solutions to be found to any problem, one has to work at the elimination of the causes of the problem. Studies done by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia) reveal that there are several risk factors which contribute to the perpetration of rape. There are firstly societal factors such as poverty, societal norms that support sexual violence, societal norms that support male superiority and sexual entitlement, weak laws and policies related to gender equality, and a high tolerance of crime and other forms of violence.
Once we remain a poverty-stricken nation, our women and girls will continue to be easy victims of rape as they open themselves to anyone offering help, as they walk the streets seeking whatever comes.
Secondly, there are community factors such as lack of institutional support from the police and judicial system, lack of organizations which can be rescue centers where counseling and other basic helps are provided.
The present administration should do much more to assist NGOs and Faith Based Organizations which work in improving the moral fabric as they deal with such issues as teenage pregnancy, suicide, drug abuse etc. Why should the current administration invest in luxury hotels when hotel occupancy rates are so low here and when we are so poor in providing for critical social services?
Thirdly, there are relationship factors such as association with sexually aggressive and delinquent peers, a family environment characterized by physical violence. Fourthly, there are individual risk factors such as alcohol and drug use, hyper masculinity, and coercive sexual fantasies.
In our Action Plan, Foundation 6 declares “…the AFC sees gender equality in the context of enhancing democracy, developing peaceful communities, eradicating poverty and violence against women…” This means that an AFC government would have zero tolerance when it comes to sexual violence or any other form of evil which robs our women and girls of a healthy, joyful and rewarding life.
Yes, we do have laws in our constitution to protect women against rape, but there must be a willingness on the part of people to comply as well as a determination on the part of the administration to enforce these laws.

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