Elimination of violence against women

Dec 07, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The fact that there is discussion about eliminating violence against women means that it more than exists. Beyond any doubt, violence against women is a frightening phenomenon, a settled culture, in Guyana. The evidence is in media reports, official numbers, whispers that are never heard. Thankfully, violence against women locally is not one of those issues that has been torn apart by the push and pull of politics. It is not what could be defended, nor what could be dressed up and peddled for some meaningless advantage. It is undeniable that women in Guyana are being felled by the scourge of violence, probably at harrowing proportions.

In recent weeks, three women have been fatal victims of violence at the hands of their domestic partners. Though Guyanese should be numbed by now at the grim toll of violence against women here, they are not. Because each new report of episodic violence still provokes dismay at the trail of wreckage, and the wounding afflictions heaped on other brutalized women, and families left to pick up the pieces as they grieve. The women wonder when their day of doom would come, when their haunting fears would materialize unmanageably. The families of those who have lost a mother, a sister, a daughter, a mentor, and a comforter wonder how they will cope, when the beacon and strength in their lives are gone forever.

Three women gone in a short span, and many multiples of that number eliminated before by those who once loved them. Instead of progress being registered in the march towards the elimination of violence against women, the sad reality is that it is the women who are being eliminated one at a time, and too many of them. One abuser reportedly possessed such violent instincts and arrogance that he hurled threats at the neighbours. Three dead in a few weeks, and the unasked question that now circulates among citizens and communities is who is going to be the next woman in Guyana victimized by violence, and where and when. Things are so unsteady here, that many Guyanese have gone past the stage of if and when, and are at that place of who and how.

When the Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection can report 257 cases of domestic violence reaching its ears, so far for this year, then the outlook for women is not unsafe in Guyana. Noting that 11 months of the year have passed, this comes dangerously close to one report a day. It must be borne in mind that for every report made to the ministry, or to any other authority including the Guyana Police Force, there could very well be at least one case that went unreported. Even as this is presented, there is the near certainty that one unreported instance of domestic differences resulting in women (or another partner) being battered sorely stretches the imagination, given the dark, reckless nature of the local environment. Worse, the country is now gearing up for the long December holiday season. This usually means the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol, and with that the disappearance of inhibitions that held lurking violence in temporary check. All the old quarrels, the troubling suspicions, the deep insecurities tend to surface, and as fueled by liquor. Inevitably, women become targets for battering, and the levels of violence are not reduced, but intensified.

Some shaky progress has been made in the fight against violence meted out to women. But more is needed to challenge and override the culture that views women as sitting ducks, hence inviting targets. Leaders at the national level have to be prime examples of the way women must be treated. When they practice high standards by word and attitude and deed, then the bar is raised on all Guyanese men and women, about what is acceptable, and what should be condemned and resisted. The road is uphill, but it has to be traveled if some progress is to be recorded in the elimination of violence against women in Guyana. Men must hold men accountable, and women must be right there. Stop the violence is a two-way street, and it involves a revolutionary change of mind in this country.

Editorial, Guyana, reports, violence, Women

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