The Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL) on Sunday said that violence in the society has reached unacceptable levels.
In a statement, GAWL condemned the recent spate of violence on the young males, Darrell James, Orlando Jonas, Joel Henry, Isiah Henry and Haresh Singh and the intimate partner violence against the young woman, Lunisa Peters.
“As an Association, we are appalled and saddened at these brutal killings and join in the call for transparent investigations so that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes be brought to justice, the GAWL said.
It added that an analysis of this level of violence leaves the Association to assume that persons in the society no longer have respect for and care towards their fellow humans. Further, the Association is of the view that the penalties ascribed to crime doers in the past have not acted as a deterrent to end the cycle of violence. The question, therefore, it said is what more can we do as a nation to reduce such levels of violence in our society.
“While the GAWL is aware of the efforts of the authorities and civil society organizations to curb crime, interpersonal violence, intimate partner violence, and other forms of violence in our communities, it has reached unacceptable levels. We can no longer ignore the fact that unless these organizations and other stakeholders pool their resources to build capacity, possible solutions to curb all forms of violence may lie beyond our reach”, the statement said.
It said that the moment is now for a recommitment by all stakeholders to find appropriate solutions to curb the escalating levels of violence in our society.
