Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand yesterday urged all women to protect themselves from violent partners and to utilize the various programmes formulated to help fight the scourge of domestic violence.
The minister touted all of the work that has been done over the years by the ministry to protect women from the various forms of violence and to empower them so they can be independent, during a ceremony held to observe International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,
Braving the rain in the compound of the ministry, Manickchand said the day was set aside for the world to denounce violence against women with specific reference to its harmful effects and the solutions that individual countries have put in place to fight violence against women.
She said that domestic violence and sexual violence against women arose from a prevailing gender inequality where men have the upper hand. She noted that women and girls make up more than half of the world’s population but own only 1% of the world’s property, earn less than men and continue to be treated unequally.
The minister told the gathering, which included school children and social workers, that the fact that women make up a larger percentage of the population, is not reflected economically, socially or in any other respect.
In Guyana, according to her, women are struggling to emerge from gender inequality that is also prevailing around the world. She said the authorities need to be very aggressive in this fight to ensure that women become equal to men and that steps are taken to enable women to become independent so that they can better take care of themselves and their children.
She said it is not just a struggle to address domestic violence here but “the struggle for the government is to ensure that there are programmes in place and that there are policies that we can implement to make sure that our women are empowered”. She stressed that the ministry believes that it is within this environment that issues such as domestic violence and sexual violence can be effectively tackled.
She noted that women have undergone skills training since the ministry strongly believes that women need to be independent and not dependent on abusive partners.
Manickchand noted too that the ministry has also provided hundreds of women with grants so that they can either establish a business or expand on one. She explained that if a woman is trained in catering, on completion of the course she is provided with a grant to start a business.
She said the commendable Women of Worth (WOW) programme allows single parents to access financial assistance to expand their businesses pointing out that an agreement was reached with banks to ensure this was possible.
She said more than 2,000 women have benefited from this service in less than a year and this created instant changes in the lives of these women and their dependants.
Addressing domestic violence
The minister told the gathering that quite a number of things have been done to specifically address domestic violence. In addition to the “very comprehensive Domestic Violence Act, we recognize that we needed to put together the kinds of services that would be needed,” she said, adding, “we published a national policy on domestic violence.”
Manickchand pointed to the Stamp it Out campaign during which officials went to 60 villages and communities across the country over a six-month period. Thousands were spoken to about the harm of sexual violence and what can be done to stamp it out.
She said legal aid services have been expanded. “Legal aid is a place where you can get justice, access the court,” she said adding that this service can be accessed for free or for a very small sum. Legal aid, she said, is available in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Seven and Ten and satellite services when needed in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
The minister stressed that concrete measures have been taken to tackle domestic violence.
She said that there are cases were women were urged not to leave relationship on the advice of religious leaders and therefore more than 800 religious leaders from six regions were trained in relation to the issue of domestic violence and how they could be part of the solution. “These are concrete measures taken, yet we see women being beaten,” she noted.
She said women are not responsible for the violence that is meted out to them. “While we have all these services and while we have trained the police force and our religious leaders, social workers, we still need women to take responsibility for their own lives and to accept these pieces of legislation and to accept these services when you find yourselves in a situation where you are being beaten; where your dignity is being taken away from you simply because you are a woman,” she said.
Manickchand appealed to women to access the many avenues where help can be sought, “so that you and your children can live a violence free life. No one else can do that for you.”
She urged all citizens during this elections period not to engage in any activities that can put women in harm’s way. She explained that whenever there is a protest or a riot, it is the women who suffer the most.
“We must commit today to ensuring that we are all standing together as one, denouncing violence against women in any form or fashion,” she stressed.
White zones
A positive Manickchand said that during the (government’s) next tern in office there would be the establishment of white zones across the country. She explained that a white zone is a place where help can be sought.
She said that before one is established, officials will go house to house in a community and educate residents about violence, its harmful nature and where you can get help. Later, she said, men will be approached with information as to how conflict can be solved without violence and the services that are available to them.
“We are not going around building buildings, it has to be where a place exists. We train the people there, how to address a women who comes in and complains about violence, how to accompany her to the police station, what are the things that can be done for her,” Manickchand said adding that it is following this process that a white zone will be established.
She said that two have already been set up and have been successful so far. She said these zones can only be established in places where a stringent security spirit exists since it is “the community [that] has to run it and sustain it. I look forward to launching, like crazy, white zones across this country in the next five years so that we can better address and deal with domestic violence.”
She assured that the WOW and Single Parents’ Assistance programmes will be expanded and legislation that addresses women’s affairs will be reviewed.
In a short address Rev Patrick Findlay, Men Affairs director said, beating “our wives and girlfriends never make things better for either of the two parties involved.” He said that from all appearances men are stuck in their ways because of their socialization. He said for the year, the organisation has spoken to over 12,000 young people in different parts of the country about gender based violence.
Rev Findlay said that youths need to be taught how to deal with conflict and anger. He opined that young leadership can end the violence against women and girls. He urged men not to hit women as they are loveable and delicate creatures.
Meanwhile Yvonne Stephenson, information resource manager, Ministry of Human Services said that in 2010, 35 women were murdered. She later listed a number of women who had been killed by their partners up to October this year, among them, nursery school teacher Natalie Loncke and Tessa Romacindo. She stressed that too many women suffer at the hands of their partners before all stakeholders to come on board to help fight this growing issue.
Later Babsie Giddings representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said that women and girls are subjected to domestic violence on a daily basis.
She said her organisation is committed to actively engaging men and boys to bring an end to domestic violence. She stressed that this is an issue that “involves all of us”.
