Dear Editor,
Guyana and the rest of the world just concluded 16 days of activism for the elimination of gender-based violence on the 10th December. Two days after, a mother and her 2 children lost their lives in a gruesome way. In a way, I can’t fathom anyone meeting their demise in such a gruesome way, I have no emotions for what that mother and her young children suffered.
This should remind us that there is need for the conversation on violence to be intensified, more public awareness sessions using survivors, more hand holding for victims, more resources such as safe houses for victims, economic empowerment, counseling, stricter penalties for perpetrators, development of an emergency response action plan on gender-based violence.
Let the theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”, be an opportunity for us to make real changes against violence and an opportunity for us to be forward thinking. Now is the time, if we are going to end violence against our women and our girls and not forgetting our men and boys who suffer too, sometimes equally. Our response needs to start at the communal level. We need to start educating the community on how they must respond to violence and every member of their community must be an activist against violence and we must hold them accountable. We need to challenge cultural norms when it comes to gender inequalities. We need to educate our children that no is no, to walk away doesn’t mean you have lost. We need to reach out to our boys and men and include them in our discussions; we need to be open about the importance gender equality. As a mother of two children, I dread having to raise my children in an environment that seems hopeless, one in which I would like my children to not be victims or perpetrators, one in which they smile on the outside not silently cry on the inside.
I call upon those in authority and other interested parties, to let us save the lives of our people by being more proactive in our efforts to end this violence. May the souls of all those who we have lost as a result of gender based violence rest in peace.
Yours faithfully,
Shaundell Shipley
