Systemic failures behind preventable deaths and comprehensive reform of Guyana's GBV response strategies

Systemic failures behind preventable deaths and comprehensive reform of Guyana’s GBV response strategies

Apr 26, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

In early January, media reports indicated that 2024 saw a 33% decline in domestic violence homicides, crediting initiatives by the Ministry of Human Services as playing a role in this reduction. These initiatives are definitely needed, but the question needs to be asked, how truly effective are they, and by what standard is this perceived reported reduction celebratory?

Four months into 2025 and our nation continues to be gripped by femicide. These are not isolated tragedies, it is a systemic crisis rooted in misogyny, patriarchal power, and institutional failure. From the brutal murders of Maline, Waveney and Sueann LaCruz, to the callous burning of Meson Ronaldo, the shooting of Kenesha Vaughn, and the mysterious death of eleven-year-old Adrianna Younge, we see that no one is safe from the excesses of violence. As seen in the case of Bibi Fazila Ally, who made repeated reports to the police, there is very little support for those who seek help from the institutions that have a duty to protect them.

These deaths will be counted in the 2025 statistical report for domestic violence murders. Maybe there will be another reported decrease in the rate of violence celebrated despite the clear femicide that has been occurring for years. These deaths of course, are merely the tip of the iceberg, these are cases that make the news because of how gruesome they are. There are many women currently experiencing abuse who will soon join the ever-expanding lists of those who lost their lives at the hands of abusers. For many, lives free from violence have long been an illusory dream.

The pattern is heartbreakingly clear. Women report abuse, seek help from authorities, and are either dismissed or offered inadequate protection. Government officials promise accountability for police who fail to act on GBV reports, yet women continue to die after their pleas for help go unheeded. Despite the government’s allocation of $150 million in 2024 to combat Gender-Based Violence, the system fundamentally fails to protect women’s lives.

Guyana, despite its increasing budgets for responding to these threats, continues to utilise mechanisms that simply are not working. There is a stark absence of adequate safe housing for women and girls who are fleeing violence. Outdated Health and Family Life programs do not touch on gendered power dynamics and how those play out in our relationships with each other, leaving many vulnerable. Accountability mechanisms are weak, with reports often not taken seriously until a life is lost, and even then, it is quickly replaced in the media cycle.

Addressing femicide requires confronting the interconnected systems that enable this violence: patriarchal structures that normalise male control, economic systems that trap women in dangerous relationships, and a justice system that repeatedly prioritizes men’s freedom and reputations over the safety of women and girls.

The government must declare femicide a national emergency, with a comprehensive reform of its GBV response strategies. We need specialised courts handling GBV cases with trained personnel and trauma-informed approaches. Safe housing across the country must be accessible to women fleeing violence, regardless of their economic status. Prevention programs addressing toxic masculinity must be implemented widely, and transparent accountability systems for tracking cases must be established.

Our communities must also act. Reject the normalisation of violence. Believe survivors. Intervene when you witness abuse. Hold the men in your lives accountable for their words and actions. Guyana will never be a developed nation if its most vulnerable are still living in fear of violence, and their abusers do not receive swift consequences. Gender justice is a fundamental part of a just society.

In solidarity,

Sherlina Nageer

Christine Samwaroo, The Breadfruit Collective

Arian Richmond, Youth Development Guyana

Salima Hinds

Kahdija Higgins

Rushel Maughn

Nwakanma Osakwe

Sandi Bowen

Tiffini Legall

Shania Wilson

Renata Burnette

Maleyha Joseph

Grace Hutson

Yolanda France

Kezia Cooper

Brittany Noel

Toshia Thomas

Angel Webster

Felicia Monderson

Sunita Samaroo

Nia Latoya Williams

Maeve Ramsay

Shabaki Singh

Rebekah Singh

Juanita Jordan

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