4,000 cases at Georgetown Hospital this year – Ramsammy
In unanimous condemnation of widespread violence against women in particular, the National Assembly on Thursday passed a motion that aims to push the House into collective action against the scourge.
The escalation of gender-based violence, as well as domestic and sexual violence is to be prioritized on political agendas as an alarming social issue, and a developmental one that threatens the pace at which the country is progressing.
But the move for condemnation at the level of Parliament was met with a bit of cynicism by a few opposition speakers, who asked whether the House was operating on a double standard, selectively condemning violence against women and “turning a blind eye to another piece of legislation to guard against torture as a form of violence”– in reference to the defeated PNCR-1G motion that had called on the state to honour its obligations under the UN Convention against Torture and set up an independent investigation to probe allegations.
The domestic violence motion, which was moved by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, called on the House to join civil society, women’s groups and NGOs among other stakeholders to condemn violence against women as being socially and culturally unacceptable, and it emphasizes assistance and support for victims of violence as a critical area of focus in stemming the tide of abuse and murders committed against women.
In a firm address, Manickchand called the motion a crucial one, underlining that the House needs to send a clear and consistent message as regards its position on the issue. She said an outright condemnation of what has been happening to women in Guyana must come from the Assembly as it “conveys to the public what action it intends to take in addressing the problem”.
Even after countless declarations and treaties that spoke to women’s rights and equality, Manickchand said, women still hold inferior positions, adding that violence is being perpetuated against them as a consequence. She said the struggle to end violence against women in Guyana started a long time ago with the labours of the women’s arm of the two political parties – the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) and the National Congress of Women — adding that it continued with organizations such as Red Thread and Help and Shelter.
“Every time a police officer refuses to address a domestic violence complaint, a social worker tells an abused woman to return another day because she is busy and the court procrastinates on these cases, we as a society and as a human race denigrate into savagery… we have got to make changes,” Manickchand said.
PNCR-1G MP Deborah Backer though supportive of the motion questioned why the selective approach to violence, noting that torture is also categorized as a form of violence. She stressed that the nation has become “barbaric and uncaring particularly towards women”. However, she said this attitude can be reversed over time.
Backer noted that the violence continues to persist even though there is existing legislation, adding that the time has come for the Domestic Violence Act to be reviewed and amended as it relates to which offences constitute crimes under the act. She also noted that domestic violence perpetrators are still being charged under the Criminal Law Act, with a few exceptions. The Act, she said, must function as the key law as it relates to domestic violence.
“When a man beats his wife he gets an assault charge and that it is… the Act that was created to stem this kind of abuse must be amended so that he can be brought in on a domestic violence related charge,” Backer stated.
For years there has been unending talk on the issue of domestic violence, Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said. He said the health sector is increasingly spending more to treat abused women, pointing to figures for the year so far of cases compiled at the Georgetown Public Hospital — in excess of 4,000 domestic violence cases and 116 cases of sexual abuse. According to him, there are similar patterns at hospitals across the country.
He called the problem a national shame that demands national condemnation, noting that “now is not the time for political divisions and/or distractions by those that offer up cultural and religious excuses”.
Special tax on liquor
Outside of the new approaches and programmes to be initiated, AFC MP Khemraj Ramjattan said there is need for a change in attitudes and conduct at the level of individuals in the society, adding that socialization plays a critical role in how people treat the issue of violence against women. He stated emphatically that everyone involved must come up with better solutions to “this particular issue and we must get the fear out that is within our women”.
Ramjattan said there is a string of issues to address in tackling the problem, citing the economics of the situation that results in women withdrawing charges. He, like a few other speakers, cited alcohol as a major contributory factor in the escalation of the problem, and suggested that a special tax be placed on liquor that would go directly to a fund set up to address the problem of violence against women.
Further, he said, the University of Guyana should conduct a study to show the correlation between alcoholism and violence against women. He also recommended that a national database be set up with the men who are convicted of such crimes, and that the public must be able to access it.
There were several other speakers in support of the motion, among them were PPP MPs, Clement Rohee and Indra Chandarpal; PNCR MPs Volda Lawrence and George Norton; AFC MP Latchmin Punalall and GAP/ROAR MP Everall Franklin.
