Photos and interviews by David Papannah
Given the tremendous impact it has been having on our country, a team including government officials is going around the country talking to people about the domestic violence situation in Guyana. This week we asked people in Rose Hall if they felt there was a need for a national conversation and how the government should address the issue. Their comments follow:
Sookram Hari, cambio dealer – ‘That is very good. It is needed because some people do not have anyone to talk to. They will be able to voice their concern and situation too. I do not think this would help greatly but I do know that it would help a lot of persons. They need to address the situation in a more broad area, not just husbands and wives but the children and the family on the whole. They should introduce counselling centres throughout the country because domestic violence is an everyday thing and it’s becoming harder with the financial crisis.’
Indira Deoram, self -employed – ‘This is something good that is being done because it is very prevalent; person(s) beating up their children and their spouse every day. It has become very serious and uncontrollable. I believe that this campaign would help many persons that are affected and if they work hard like how they work hard to help educate persons about HIV/AIDS then I do not see why it would not work. They [government] should address situations like drug and alcohol abuse because they contribute to domestic violence. They should have public meetings in communities like what they have during elections time to educate the people about domestic violence. They should also introduce afternoon programmes to keep the young people occupied.’
Nalini, vendor – ‘They should do this because domestic violence occurs in every home. This would be good for the country and I support it 100%. They should listen to people and help them out. I think it should be something that would be around all the time. They should go deep into communities and make friends with the residents and so they will be able to get more responses and more information on how the domestic violence affects them. They should also ask and encourage persons to join and encourage them.’
Noormohamed Aladdin, pensioner – ‘This would certainly help since persons need to share their story. I see this as a need in the country. Both men and women are to be blamed for domestic violence because they are both the cause for it. Sometime females are the cause; the things they do are not pleasing to their husbands and that would result in domestic violence because it gets the man angry. They should sensitise the public about this problem and how it affects everyone. They should create laws to help put a stop to domestic violence. They should make laws that are heavy. Laws like sending persons to prison and fines that are big because the small ones they would pay and go back and do the same thing again.’
John Tiles, pensioner – ‘There is nothing wrong with a programme like this. Domestic violence is not good for a country and I see this as something great for the country. The people will be able to influence persons who are victims of domestic violence positively and that is something great. I think the penalty for a person who is found guilty should go to jail for a time like a week or two. When this happens person would be aware of it and would not commit the act because nobody wants to go to jail.’
Claire Griffith, vendor – ‘This is something good. Persons would be able to understand the situation that is taking place every day in our country. I see this as a need in the country and they should continue with it until they see a reduction in domestic violence. They should jail the guilty persons because it is something wrong they are doing or they can put strong fines in place like $30,000 and $40,000, this way people would not want to commit any domestic violence.’
Ramnarine, pensioner – ‘This is a good cause and I see the need for it. Too many people are victims of domestic violence and it is growing every day. They should get officers in the community and let them patrol so if they see any one being a victim they can arrest the offender. They should also have counselling centres that offer free counselling to help the persons who are affected and fines that would be big so they would not want to do it back.’
Ann Williams, rural constable – ‘They are doing a good for the country that’s how I see it. Husbands would beat their wives; wives would beat their husbands and parents would beat children extremely bad, so it is definitely needed because it would help victims to get some justice. A lot of persons need help with this situation and I see it as a means of helping. If they are caught they should be placed in front of the court and if they are found guilty they should pay a fine or they can even go to counselling. If you talk to them it might just be a waste of time.’
Madina, food vendor – ‘It is needed in the country because sometimes people would talk about domestic violence and that does not help very much and with them going around then people would be able to share how they feel. But sometimes women are to be blamed because they know the law protects them. Women sometimes influence the males to hit them because of the things they do. The first time punishment should be light but if they continue to do this they should have a longer punishment which is harsher. This way it would help to reduce domestic violence in the country.’
Shellon Watkins, clerk – ‘I see this as a very good deed. Our country needs this because there are too many cases of domestic violence unreported and this serves as a mean for helping the victims of domestic violence. I think they should create more counselling centres that are friendly so persons would be willing to go and not feel shy about it. They should also have public counselling sessions for persons to go in and talk about how they feel. Domestic violence needs heavy laws because it is humans we are dealing with and I think they should create appropriate laws for this social issue. The laws should be for both male and female because they are both to be blamed.’
