Social Services Ministry to set up justice centre’s countrywide for battered, disabled women

Dec 03, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MoHSSS) in partnership with Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities
(GCOPD), and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have intensified efforts to help persons with disabilities, particularly those suffering from domestic violence.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud

The initiative, kick-started with the launching of a workshop on Wednesday, which focused on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) for young women with disabilities. Minister of Human Services, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, during the opening ceremony, said no effort would be spared to help vulnerable persons. She said the 914 hotline which has been in existence for more than a year, an app would soon be launched, called “I Matter”, will provide another avenue for victims to report domestic violence.
“Every person matters, so the app will be available in the stores for you to just upload it on your forms, and you can utilise the app in many ways. Information will be readily available through the app, but there is a button that will link a person who is experiencing violence…when you hit that 914-panic button, it hooks up to more 914 hotlines.” “All we ask is that you keep the location on your phone on, so if there is need for us to find you and help you, we can do that”, Minister Dr. Persaud pointed out.
The minister explained that justice centres would be launched across the country so that services can be readily accessible. “So, we’re looking at a gender-based referral system where the Police are involved or survivors’ advocates are involved…and welfare officers are involved… Justice centres will be launched across the country where these services will not be through phone call or through an extension, but they will be, or the intention is for them to be readily accessible to people across the country under one roof…”, she noted.
There is also a complex that is currently being constructed that will cater exclusively for persons with disabilities. “That will be based on the East Coast of Demerara, and it is intended for this construction to be concluded before mid-part of the year, because it has already started and I’m hoping it will finish earlier…the intention is to provide safe spaces, if you like, to hold your meetings, or events, or anything that you feel that is necessary. And in next year’s budget, we’ve asked for transportation, retrofitted transportation to cater for persons living with disabilities…,” Minister Dr. Persaud added.
She further explained that later on in this year, training will commence in a number of areas, and it would be targeting persons living with disabilities. She said that when these training programmes begin, attendance would be free of cost.
“You might say that is separate to the issue of violence, but it’s not. It is working to make you very independent, very independent. And once you will access those training programmes…the funding will be available to you, because we want to encourage micro enterprise. We want to encourage you to be entrepreneurs, we want to encourage you to be bosses, and we want to encourage you to take control of the finances…”, Human Services Minister posited.
Furthermore, over the years, not many programmes have been implemented to educate women and girls with disabilities about GBV. However, she highlighted that very few women and young girls with disabilities are aware of their rights, and lack the knowledge of the available GBV services.
Nevertheless, this workshop and continuous online and in-person training, GCOPD hopes that will sensitise and empower women and young girls with disabilities.