Are women among the endangered species in Guyana?

May 07, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Sometimes we read of a wife’s body found in a shallow grave, on other occasions, about a wife or lover gone missing and her male lover being the prime suspect. Recently, the Kaieteur News – 25th April 2017 informed us of a young woman whose hand had been severed presumably by her male partner, as the debauchery continues. Our women are being beaten, maimed or killed with stunning regularity and the society is mostly silent! As a people, we are prepared to hit the streets every day in protest against parking meters, but struggle to muster a similar level of energy in a show of protest against the savagery being visited on our women. But why this seeming growing number of men folks resorting to beat, maiming and killing their female partners?
Suzanne Ffolkes in a study offers seven causes for violence against women in the Caribbean. Among these are: (a) Structural, e.g. the pressures of society, dehumanizing conditions and the economy, thus men use violence as a means of relieving their social frustration, (b) Male supremacy based on culture and accepted as a part of life, (c) Substance abuse, and Tradition and behaviourism (i.e. violence begets violence in the home, generation after generation). Explaining the reason for this phenomenon in the USA, most writers make similar conclusions. But while there might be unanimity on the cause of this debauchery it is uncertain whether the response favored by developed western societies; which we embrace; would be appropriate for Guyana.
This is especially so when these interventions do not seem to work even for developed societies. In the USA, the response to this problem is focused on addressing the wellbeing of victims – safe houses, counselling, provision of assistance aimed at nurturing self – reliance. For the perpetuators, it is criminal justice intervention that is heavily relied on. This has not worked. The National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) 2007 concluded that physical assault is widespread among American women.
The former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop identified violence against women by partners as the number one health problem facing women in the USA. Richard Gelles, the author of the book ‘The violent home,’ says “with the exception of the police and the military, the family is the most violent organization in the United States.” Clearly the approach embraced by the USA is not delivering the desired outcomes therefore Guyana’s reliance on modeling much of its response on that of the USA might be unwise.
In Guyana with a small population, where who we don’t know are known to relatives or friends, it is almost impossible to keep the location of a ‘safe house’ secret. Thus, we read of women being ambushed on their way to and from these ‘safe houses’ by their abusers. Safe houses might work well in large, rich countries with large populations. The use of the justice system for resolving these acts of abuse has been counter-productive and mostly ineffective. Imprisoning the guilty party might gratify our anger, but if instances of brutality against our women are on the rise then incarceration is of little other value. Imprisoning the offender usually deprives the home of its sole bread winner.
While protective orders intended at restraining abusers from interacting with victims are disregarded with impunity. A reminder of this fact is the recent case of the young lady at Parika who was killed by her husband even though there was an active restraining order. So, what do we do? I think there are two things we need to focus on.
First, let us remember, it is predominantly females who suffer serious injuries or death from physical abuse in love relationships. Thus, the problem actor in the acts of violence against women, are violent men. Unfortunately, in Guyana, little attention is given to studying violent men in an attempt to understand their motivation and thus craft an informed response. In the Kaieteur Newspaper 26th April 2017, the Minister of Social Protection tells us ending violence against women and girls is a priority of the present government.
To this end the minister continued “we will work to bring all perpetrators to justice, ensure that institutions are held accountable and the effective support systems are in place for victims.” Notice, nothing is said on the preventative side, unless – ‘bringing the perpetrators to justice’ is considered an efficient deterrent (though perhaps necessary, we noted above how ineffective this is). In this regard, perhaps we might need to relook at our schools’ family life education syllabus to see if enough attention is being placed on male female relationships. Whatever the intervention finally decided on, we must ensure that it is evidence based, that it reflects an understanding of our social environment.
Secondly and associated to the above, for us to make an intelligent intervention there is need for research on this matter to be done. It is this absence of research in Guyana that makes an evidence based approach unattainable at present, and what gives rise to this reliance on work done in the developed west. The absence of indigenous research on which our decision makers can rely on when formulating policies in response to social problems, is unacceptable in the 21st century.
Here in the USA, even the lowest graded universities pride themselves on the research work done by students and faculty members. I do not know what are the hindrances, but whatever these might be they need be addressed urgently so that the capable persons I know at the University of Guyana can begin to provide the society with the leadership we desperately need in this matter.
Claudius Prince

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