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$50M set aside from budget for domestic violence fight
Kaieteur News- The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh announced on Friday that over $50M has been set aside in this year’s national budget to cater to initiatives and strategies aimed at improving government’s response to issues of Domestic Violence (DV).
Reports had indicated that there was a spike in incidences of DV as a result of the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The reports are that efforts of organisations that work to tackle this sort of violence have been stretched thin, due to the numerous challenges that have arisen.
The situation has been overwhelming, as the COVID-19 challenge has intensified previous challenges the organisations faced when it comes to transporting, housing and providing for persons fleeing abuse.
In his budget 2021 presentation, Dr. Singh noted that the government is extremely concerned with the level of domestic violence and its impact on victims and their families.
“We took immediate action to address this issue on multiple fronts and we will continue to collaborate with communities, faith-based and non-government organisations to pursue actions that curtail domestic and sexual abuse in our country,” the Finance Minister told the National Assembly.
According to Dr Singh, the PPP/C administration has significantly increased allocations to the organisations providing support to victims of domestic violence.
As such, he announced that organisations like Help and Shelter will benefit from over $50 million set aside for tackling DV issues, this year. In addition, the Minister said that government will be developing multisector domestic violence protocols, which will serve to improve the operational procedures across relevant public and private institutions and stakeholders.
“Mr. Speaker, Government launched the 914 toll free hotline to allow victims of domestic violence to report incidents and request assistance in December 2020. This is being complemented by the [European Union Funded] $1 billion Spotlight programme which will see government working along with stakeholders, including international agencies and CSOs towards curbing gender-based violence,” added Dr. Singh.
Additionally, the Finance Minister said that government will establish court superintendent department with a cadre of lawyers to lead prosecutions in each regional division for cases of domestic violence.
“A Survivors Advocates Programme will also be implemented to offer emotional support and crisis counselling to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse and will be piloted in the regions with the highest reported cases. Mr. Speaker, we must collectively show zero tolerance for any form of domestic violence,” emphasized Dr. Singh.
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