Guyana has failed to develop a consolidated response to the growing problem of domestic violence and “while nothing gets done… women and children especially continue to die,” lecturer and programme officer in the Women’s Studies Unit (WSU) University of Guyana, Audrey Benn says.
She said that there are many problems which are contributing to the increase in domestic violence, such as the socialisation of children and the fact that it is still viewed as a “private matter,” and more needs to be done to tackle the issue.
Benn, who holds a master’s degree in Gender and Development and who has done research on domestic violence, told the Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview that what is also important to note is the fact that family violence creates people who are not disposed to cooperate in efforts to get them to open up about what is happening. She explained that when a child is silenced, he/she will not participate because they know that adults will not listen; likewise when a woman denounces ill treatment and the officials treat the person who committed the act as if they were in the right, she will begin to lose confidence in officials and not participate.
And the age old problem of the socialisation of children continues to be a major contributing factor Benn said, pointing to the fact that there is an aspect of power and domination that is seldom acknowledged, and this includes the privileging of the male child over the female child.
“It is replicated through the simple process of socialisation. Socialisation in the home does not only include what is being said to the child, but also what is not said. Those things include the unspoken messages which the child takes in as he/she grows,” Benn said.
“Let me make it quite clear here that we were created equal as male and female, therefore each individual should be given equal opportunity to fulfil his/her life course,” she said.
She noted that children are very observant as they grow and they tend to “model the behaviour that parents act out before them.” And she said behaving as if one does not see or does not care is not going to solve the problem.
“Family violence cannot be private because someone is being violated, and his/her security is being compromised,” she said, adding that too often people – not only in Guyana – rationalize domestic violence through ‘we’ and ‘them’ lenses which does not help to reduce the problem
According to Benn such attitudes serve only to stigmatise victims and give the perpetrator security. It is known, she said, that in instances where domestic violence is kept private the victim would be very reluctant to venture out emotionally, physically and psychologically to seek help.
“In other words, once a victim of domestic violence is of the impression that the social temperature would be turned up if the violence is exposed, that individual would prefer to remain in the abusive situation. Hence in order to avoid being judged he/she prefers to stay silent and live a lie,” the lecturer said.
‘The blame game’
Benn said she had argued in a paper titled ‘A Multidimensional Ap-proach to the Study of Domestic Violence’ which had been based on research she had done in 2010, that there must be a “multi-dimensional, multi-faceted multi-pronged approach involving all the systems working together cohesively to tackle this scourge.”
It should never be the case where the health system blames the judiciary and the judiciary blames social workers and social workers blame politicians and “everyone becomes caught up in a whole big circus of blaming while nothing gets done and women and children especially continue to die.”
“Saying this is by no means an effort to communicate that officials should not be held accountable for shortcomings. However, we should not park there at the mistakes but move on to the weightier matters that are affecting the citizenry,” she emphasised.
According to Benn the work should start by first dismantling the institutions that are seen as sustaining spousal violence by their very nature. She said a closer look needs to be taken also of the systems that support those institutions.
And while nothing is wrong with relying on the legal system to solve the problems, Benn said even in that system losses are being recorded because in some instances the legal route to addressing problems of a social nature does more harm than good.
She pointed out that the legal system is geared to punish rather than rehabilitate, and there is a need to build into the country’s legal framework an element which deals with domestic violence before it starts, and even when it has occurred, ensuring that the perpetrator after being convicted, is not released harbouring a desire for vengeance and a determination to kill the victim.
“In any instance it seems prudent to me for an administration to spend hard-earned finances on a problem when it is now budding than to have to spend tons of money later to contain the same problem,” Benn said.
Furthermore, she repeated, if a child knows that adults will not listen to him/her, then he/she will not be motivated to participate in any process of disclosure. Likewise if a woman or a man denounces abuse and exposes it, but officials exonerate the person in the wrong, then she loses confidence in the system and in the officials who are supposed to protect her and keep her safe.
Research
Questioned whether conducting research on the problem may contribute to it being more adequately addressed, Benn said that there is always a need for research, hence the need for universities and faculties with expertise in every possible area. She pointed out that universities in every nation have been centres of knowledge production. The knowledge produced by universities is taken up and used to inform policies in the creation of better societies.
However, Benn pointed out that this costs money, and when asked specifically about research done by the WSU she responded that the unit has been conducting research with meagre resources.
“The Women’s Studies Unit has been doing research, but it is one thing to call for research to be done and another to make available the capital (human and other) to do the research,” Benn said, revealing that when she conducted her first research on domestic violence she funded it herself every step of the way.
But while research is important Benn cautioned that it is not done because it is the popular thing to do. She stated that research projects are commissioned or conducted because there is a need to look again at an issue or to search for new answers to old or new problems.
“So it is a purposeful engagement to inform some sort of action; by its very name it means to look again or search again. This is because problems, although they might be old, can take on new manifestations, and the only way to ensure that a society is not overwhelmed by its problems is to use the knowledge that is produced to inform policy decisions,” Benn said.
And because research is difficult work involving both the mind and body, Benn said it should be properly compensated and used for the benefit of the whole country. While there are many ills in society which serve to marginalize women, the lecturer said that the country must start at the root and that is by removing all the props that inhibit women and girls.
And about whether women are doing enough to help themselves, Benn pointed out that for the most part women are doing more than their fair share, especially if what takes place in the home is to be examined. However, she said in the context of domestic violence she would not pronounce on women’s ability to lift themselves out of the violence and move on, because women living with domestic abuse are faced with many challenges. Further, if the system of any particular society is not seen by the victim as being supportive then they will remain trapped. She stressed that choices have to be made available before an individual can determine which option to take.
The Women’s Studies Unit
Speaking about the unit she now heads Benn said it was established in 1987 and it is committed to educating, researching and sensitising persons and institutions to the national and global perspectives inherent in women and gender, and development studies. She said that its goal is to provide an enabling environment that will encourage and promote scholarship on women and gender analysis, mainstreaming and planning, while ensuring an improved status for women through gender equity and equality in pursuit of national development.
It currently functions to provide gender training and community outreaches to enhance the lives of men and women in society in order to create a more just society. About the work done, Benn said that each academic year since 2009, it has been called on to conduct seminars, training programmes and workshops, not only for the academic community but also for non-academic communities and agencies all around the country.
It is also involved in outreach projects not only on solidarity days but throughout the year to ensure that the word gets out and that it registers zero tolerance on violence.
Benn joined the unit in 2007 after reading for her masters in the UK, and apart from lecturing she is also a professional social worker/counsellor. Outside the unit Benn is the leader of the women’s group in her church and said that for the most part she has been involved in issues regarding women and girls for decades.
While she has done research on several issues she has focused more on domestic violence because of the fact that so many people are involved, in addition to which, in the context of Guyana so many women and children and sometimes men are dying unnecessarily.