Tackling domestic violence needs a multi-faceted approach

Tackling domestic violence needs a multi-faceted approach – NGO

Aug 09, 2018 News

Even if an abused person returns to the same space with their abuser, the onus remains on the relevant authorities to do whatever is necessary to help reduce the scourge of domestic violence.
This is particularly important if the abuse has gained the attention of the police force.
Pandit Suresh Sugrim who through a non-governmental organisation has been aiming to empower women even to overcome abusive situations, said that the police have a specific role.
Pandit Sugrim, who heads the New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission in Berbice, is convinced that if women are able to be independent they would be in a better position to flee abusive relationships.
But during an interview with this publication yesterday, he shared his conviction, that NGOs cannot achieve the desired goal – to reduce instances of domestic violence – by working alone. He stressed the need for such organisations to work closely with government agencies.
Pandit Sugrim’s disclosure comes on the heels of the death of yet another woman at the hands of her spouse. Reports suggest that Rohini Lakhan of Kilcoy/Chesney, Corentyne, Berbice, endured years of domestic violence before her life was savagely snuffed out by her abusive husband, Ramesh Ramdeen, who later took his own life.
Sugrim in weighing on the publicised reports of the murder/suicide, said that from all indications some ranks of the police force are not taking seriously the issue of domestic violence. This, he said, should not be the case given the fact that far too many women have lost their lives to such dastardly acts.
“The police should not take chances in such cases…if what I am hearing about this case is true: Why would an unarmed police rank accompany a woman to a location where her abuser is? Even worse why would a trained police rank leave the abused with her abuser? I’m inclined to believe that even if the police rank had stayed, once that police rank was unarmed, the violent act would have still been carried out and even more people could have been hurt,” Pandit Sugrim speculated.
“I am just tired of seeing these women getting killed. If a relationship is not working, you have free-will to leave…Just walk away; don’t kill!”
Pandit Sugrim added that while a number of women have been steered along empowerment lines, some of them still lack the fortitude to break the cycle of abuse. He said that not only the women must be awakened to the fact that they do not have to remain in abusive relationships. According to Pandit Sugrim, efforts must also be made to reach the men and help them understand that there are other ways of dealing with relationship issues.
“I was married; I got divorced…I had issues too, but I didn’t think about killing my ex. I found it was better to let her go if we can’t get along. If we can’t get along as husband and wife the answer is not to hurt each other…People need to learn that there is such a thing as letting go; there is a time that you have to let go.”
According to Pandit Sugrim, although a great deal of focus is directed to women because they are often the abused, more deliberate and concerted efforts must be made to teach men how they too can deal with the issues they face.
“We need to plan sessions to teach men how to open-up, how to communicate, how to seek help…you are never too macho to seek help, you are more of a man if you seek help and refuse to resort to killing.
“Men, like women, need help to put their lives together. They need to understand that there is life even after a heart-break,” Pandit Sugrim assured.
And Pandit Sugrim is certainly ready and willing to work closely with government and other like-minded organisations and individuals to commence a programme that can reach both men and women with a view of helping to arrest cases of domestic violence.

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Tackling domestic violence needs a multi-faceted approach – NGO

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