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Red Thread calls out Human Services Ministry on silence over gender-based violence by Govt. officials
Kaieteur News – The Red Thread grassroots women group has called out the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security for failing to denounce acts of gender-based violence by senior government officials.
Wintress Whyte, an executive member of the group, told this newspaper that the Ministry has demonstrated a “double standard” in its approach to gender-based violence (GBV). The World Bank describes GBV as violence against women and girls, adding that this “global pandemic” affects one in every three women in their lifetime.
The United Nations (UN) outlines various types of violence against women, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence such as rape, femicide, human trafficking, online or technology-facilitated violence such as cyber bullying and child, early or forced marriage, just to name a few.
Red Thread women during a protest against gender-based violence
Today, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security will host a walk in commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The walk commences at 15:00hrs at Lamaha and East Streets, Georgetown and specifically geared towards raising awareness to end femicide.
Red Thread, however, views this move as a façade; consequently, the group said it will not be participating. Whyte said, “The Ministry of Human Services has been silent on a number of issues. They were silent with the rape against the Amerindian girl when the [former] Minister Dharamlall was accused, and part of that Ministry was the Child Care Agency which had that child locked away with limited access to her, even her parents, so what do you call that? It is double standards but people in high places are allowed to do as they like so this walk that they are organizing against gender-based violence is just a sham.”
She argued that this activity was merely being done in observance of the 16 days of activism against violence towards women.
She said, “They shouldn’t wait until this period to do something. This is the Ministry that is mandated to deal with these things and they are not doing it in a proper manner or a way that people see that they are doing something.”
Red Thread pointed out that earlier this year when a female journalist of Kaieteur News was cyber bullied in a malicious manner by elements close to the People’s Progressive Party, the same Ministry did not bother to denounce the attack. She said this begs the question as to who the ministry is for, and what is its purpose.
Whyte further pointed out that only two weeks ago a senior member of the government, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo described a female Member of Parliament as a ‘low life’. “There was no mention of this by the Ministry, there was no statement put out against that so he was allowed to abuse a woman and use his power, as a matter of fact and he should know better because he holds a high office, than to abuse a woman calling her a low life,” Whyte argued.
More concerning for the women’s group, however is that “there was no outcry from the Ministry, there was no statement put out from them, that means they condone his actions.”
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