Domestic violence – scourge upon scourge

Apr 30, 2020 Editorial

Concerns about incidents of domestic violence and child molestation are increasing. They are well-founded, since the circumstances are tailormade to make possible, on an even greater scale, the harrowing and the nationally embarrassing, at least in the too many publicized reports of violence against partners and predation aimed at children. Guyana is not alone in these plights, which add scourge upon scourge, as they transform constant anxieties into the reality of bodily or other batteries.
It is a bad time, because the usual first calls for nearby help or to relational and official lines of defense are not there currently. They are there, but they, too, are stuck fast to the inside. Neighbours are limited by their own apprehensions and precautions that must be taken before the onslaughts of a raging virus that has effectively locked down entire nations. The soothing voices of rushing relations, who answer calls for temporary protecting interventions are not available and for the same reasons.
In the same vein, there are no comforting shoulders, no welcoming homes with doors held open to run to for shelter (again momentary) from whatever comes from the madness of those who claim to love and cherish. It may be man or woman, and children, too. The women in our midst are the ones who live with the menaces, feel the brunt of the brutality, and carry the lifelong burden of the searing memories. In short, doors are shut, there is no place to which the fearful or wounded could go for solace, for the respite of protection, such as it is.
We say this, because though the Guyana Police Force is willing, it is not as strong as it would like to be or should be. To begin with, it was too thin in frontline manpower departments and possessing very few reserves on which to call. Further, its ranks have to be on standby or otherwise deployed for the priorities related to those two viruses that have crippled this nation. They are this year’s election that does not have an end, and the coronavirus that does not have a cure. It is the proverbial horror of being caught between a rock and a hard place, which Guyanese citizens are forced to live with on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Alarms, false starts, and other trepidations have become the order of our times.
Partners and children are at higher risk than normal. Compliments of layoffs and lockdowns, curfews and other conditions, made necessary by a virus without boundaries. Many are trapped inside their homes and for extended periods that, in some situations, could be unendingly and heavily fear-generating. There are reports of the stranded stocking up on alcoholic beverages, which in and of itself is a dangerous development, even for moderate and controlled imbibers, for control can slip away all too easily when liquor fuels passions and purges inhibitions.
This is compounded by the belief that alcohol, the stronger the better, is a good antidote against this virus that hangs over the head of this nation. In Guyana, where there is justified national concern over heavy alcohol consumption and its heavier consequences, this is the equivalent of the constant pouring of an accelerant on unextinguished fires. That is, domestic fires that could get out of hand at a moment’s notice, and without any triggering mechanism necessary.
Abusers with a lengthy history of poor anger management controls, some cultural and familial rearing, and their own perverted tendencies are trapped with nowhere to go. Money is scarce and frustrations are abundant, and this is all happening within four walls that might as well be dungeons. There is awareness that law enforcement ranks may not be able to respond as rapidly as circumstances warrant. Victims are left with prayer and the hope that comes from those.
There are few protections: find inner calm amidst domestic storms, recognize sharp warning signs, move to diffuse rising tensions, reach for hotlines and other services, and give as much space, circumstances permitting. The irony is that these may be more enraging, with pent-up frustrations looking for easy outlets. Those are usually found in the home and the globally rampaging COVID-19 appears to be a major contributor.

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