Persons in Region Five suffering from various forms of abuse can now go to seek help at the desk that was recently set up at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice.
The help-desk, located below the office of the Regional Democratic Council, was established by the Regional Women’s Affairs Committee (RWAC) to deal with gender issues.
At a commissioning ceremony on December 5, Chairperson, Sandra Baldeo acknowledged that violence cannot be stopped but said it can be “reduced through education.” She said that the RWAC would be networking with the Probation Department, Child Care and Protection Agency and other organisations dealing mostly with women and children’s issues.
The office which will be opened from Mondays to Fridays will be run by volunteer workers. She made an appeal to the government for assistance “to pay a secretary.”
Administrator of the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB) of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Hymawattie Lagan, the guest speaker at the event, congratulated the women for establishing the desk and said they had been very proactive and were giving the probation department a lot of assistance.
She said too that setting up the space came after a lot of dedication and hard work and thanked the regional administration for providing the support. The women were also urged to have close collaboration with the police, health and education officials.
Recognising that not only women are victims of abuse, Lagan reiterated that the desk would address gender issues with special focus on women and young girls. Matters should be dealt with at that level first before it reaches the police or the WAB.
Lagan recalled a case in the past where the regional administration, the probation officers, the RWAC and the police were involved. But when they cracked the case, the woman decided to return to the abusive relationship.
She said that parents needed to monitor and guide their children, noting that some children are using social media incorrectly and may want to experiment with what they view on the internet.
In cases of child abuse, she urged mothers to believe their children if they relate that their fathers or uncles had touched them inappropriately.
She said too that they should not worry that if the matter is reported and if the man goes to jail they “would not get to eat” because they can find a job or engage in activities to take themselves out of the situations they are in.
According to Lagan, she has seen yards with big spaces and yet no vegetables have been planted as people prefer to go to the market to purchase them. She said children can also assist with chores around the home. She said that the time has come too now for children to speak out about
abusive parents to get them to stop their behaviour.
In his address, Regional Chairman Bindrabhan Bisnauth said that the regional administration would continue to work to ensure that the region is violence free.
