Two weeks after embarking on a campaign to sensitise men about domestic violence and its consequences, businessman Randy Shephard on Saturday held a successful outreach in Berbice.
Shephard related to Stabroek News that he spearheaded a team which gathered outside of Spready’s Supermarket, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, where they met with members of the public.
During the outreach, Shephard said residents were educated on the issue, its causes and consequences. Awareness was raised by sharing flyers, stickers and awareness cards from the Ministry of Social Protection.
Two Saturdays ago, Shephard had informed this newspaper that he launched the campaign with the aim of reducing the troubling rates of domestic violence.
His decision, he had said, was prompted by the killing of Zaila Sugrim, who was discovered in a shallow grave in a lot next to her husband’s La Union, West Coast Demerara home during last month, days after she was reported missing.
“…It is to sensitise men that the road that they are taking, it’s not the right path to go. Our women are important, we need them. At the end of the day, you leave somebody without a daughter, somebody without a mother, somebody without a sister,” Shephard had said.
Shephard had started the campaign by pasting a graphic design on the rear windshield of his car on Friday. The design displays images of abuse and bears the words, “Let’s work together to stop domestic violence. This is not right. It is damaging our society.”
Saturday’s outreach was one of a series Shephard plans to host.
Prior to this, he had several awareness sessions at orphanages, the Stabroek Market square, Kitty seawalls and Cuffy Square.
“The response is widening day by day. A lot of people are buying into it. Few persons went to put the stuff (graphic design) on their car and few others promise to do it. But the responses is good. We also had a meeting with the Ministry, they called me, we had a meeting and we had some other meetings,” Shephard told Stabroek News.
Shephard had previously said that he plans to prepare a petition to advocate for stricter penalties for perpetrators of domestic violence.
“I am going to also try prepare a petition, to petition the government. Get the laws that pertains to domestic violence, get some serious laws in place because we need them. Non-bailable, go to prison. There is some times, the woman might go and say she doesn’t want to give evidence. We don’t want to hear that. As long as the police do their investigation and find that yes, they have evidence, it’s out of her hands. The police take control of it,” he had said.
Shephard, who is a single father, had said that he himself attempted domestic violence in the past.
He believes that the issue is a major one which society is plagued with on a daily basis and one that many turn a “blind eye” to.
