It would be safe to say, given the low population of Guyana, that domestic violence has become a major scourge of this nation, contributing, along with suicide and wanton criminality to a loss of ethos.
Domestic violence is defined as “violent or aggressive behaviour within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner,” and deaths resulting from domestic violence incidents have become a major aspect of the statistics on murder and killings in general in Guyana.
It perhaps should be no surprise that a country whose citizens show a propensity for physical violence should also have a high rate of domestic violence. However, since the majority of victims in domestic violence incidents are women and also children, then this brings into sharp focus Guyana’s record on the treatment of the vulnerable sections of the population.
Since the beginning of 2017, several women have been killed by their spouses. As has been the trend over many years, these killings were not of a kind as to provide the elements of ‘whodunit.’ These were mostly cases where the perpetrator did little to conceal his crime other than to flee the scene at the end of the gruesome act.
Many times, there are witnesses to the brutal homicides, and sometimes good Samaritans or nearby relatives are also injured or killed when they attempt to lend a helping hand to the victim. When caught, the perpetrators are usually keen to confess and the whole investigation of the killing can be wrapped up in a very short period of time after their apprehension.
This is not to say that all spousal killings result from traditional domestic violence circumstances, neither are they all easily investigated. Some killings of spouses are done with other equally sinister motives than those that fit the traditional domestic violence scenario, which involves a pattern of violent behaviour which can escalate over time, resulting in serious physical and psychological injury and too often the death of a spouse, usually the female.
For the sake of focus we will limit this discussion to spousal deaths caused by traditional domestic violence crimes, primarily those that have escalated over time.
We have strongly contended previously in these pages that a special court should be set up to handle domestic violence crimes, more particularly, but not necessarily limited to, those that result in grievous bodily harm and death. We expressed the view that it was necessary to speed up the trial and prosecution of those who perpetrate such crimes against the persons closest to them – persons who should normally be looking to them for protection from all forms of violence.
A special court for domestic violence cases would send a strong signal to the general public that the authorities are serious about expediting the process of delivering justice to the victims of such violence and the families badly scarred by these occurrences. It would signal to currently silent sufferers that they could find recourse in the criminal justice system in a timely manner that would enhance their safety through a swift resolution of the matter.
Most importantly, it would send a signal to current perpetrators of domestic violence that the jig is up, that they will no longer find solace in a long drawn out process, but that justice would be swift and punishment certain for those found guilty. And that the nexus between the crime and the punishment would be sharply defined in the eyes of all: perpetrator, victim and the observing public, as cases are heard with dispatch and appropriate punishment meted out within a timeframe that keeps in focus a new zero tolerance for such crimes.
The sum total of family units is what constitutes the population as a whole, and each domestic violence crime therefore is an attack on who we are as Guyanese. Children growing into adulthood carrying the emotional scars of having been affected by domestic violence excesses in the home, can display negative side effects of their experience, even becoming domestic violence perpetrators themselves.
The call for a special court to expedite serious domestic violence cases should therefore be heard as a clarion call by the administration of justice in Guyana if we are serious about arresting the scourge of domestic violence that is sweeping through all the regions.
Our justice system should be working just as hard as our social services agencies in progressing towards a reduction in the number and severity of violent acts within the home, acts which continue to cause death and grievous bodily harm, including the maiming and disfigurement of women in the majority of cases.
Political matters are sometimes given priority in terms of passage through our courts, yet the matter of domestic violence which is tearing apart the very fabric of our society and possibly spawning any number of attendant ills, is treated as any other malady even as it seems to grow and spread its deadly tentacles across the country.
It is time for justice not just to be done, but to appear to be done. It is time for a real zero tolerance approach to eradicating domestic violence.
It is time for a special court to be set up to address and expedite serious domestic violence cases.
