Dear Editor,

THIS is the second of our letters to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

While we acknowledge improvements made by the Guyana Police Force to address and reduce crime generally, little information is available to NGOs and members of the general public about the composition and functioning of the police domestic sexual violence units.

Quite a few years ago when these units were first being discussed, it was recognised that NGOs and other civil society organisations have a crucial role to play in any system for prevention and prosecution of, and protection against, domestic and sexual violence.

The Police Force has initiated the Cops and Faith programme, which has been cited as being very successful, especially as it relates to juveniles in conflict with the law, but little effort has been made to initiate similar collaboration with NGOs that have years of experience and who run successful programmes addressing all forms of gender-based violence, including all forms of child abuse.

We know that domestic violence and sexual violence are seen as playing an important role in constructing gender roles, power relations and as a means for some men to dominate and inflict harm on women.  We only have to listen to some of the lyrics dominating popular music to understand how this is affecting the psyche of young men and boys and young women and girls.  All forms of gender-based violence share a common thread, i.e. power relations between men and women and gender inequality.

Sexual violence is often used as a mechanism for controlling the body and sexuality of women. The pervasiveness of rape culture and rape myths also fuels a psychological and cultural mindset that blames the victim/survivor (‘She asked for it’) and trivialises sexual offences (‘Boys will be boys’).

It tolerates sexual harassment in the workplace and schools; defines masculinity and manhood as the ability of men to exert power and control, especially over their women, including control over their sexuality and defines femininity and womanhood as being submissive, sexually passive, obedient and subservient.

Rape culture believes that when women say no, they mean yes in sexual matters and that when men get sexually turned on it is impossible for them to stop; assumes that men don’t get raped or that only ‘weak’ men get raped; is influenced by music styles and lyrics that glorify violence, portray explicit sexual imagery and is homophobic, insults and denigrates women and incites and encourages sexual assault and rape of women and the killing and maiming of gay and homosexual men; assumes that only promiscuous – ‘fast’, ‘easy’ – women and girls get raped and minimises the physical and psychological trauma of sexual violence.

Factors that increase men’s risk of committing sexual violence include gang membership; harmful or illicit use of alcohol or drugs; exposure to domestic violence as a child; history of physical or sexual abuse as a child; belief in gender inequality; limited education; acceptance of violence (belief that it is acceptable to beat one’s wife or girlfriend); multiple partners and infidelity.

Let us not forget that criminals and persons in conflict with the law are not born, but are the products of the social, economic, cultural and political environment in which they are raised. And as long as programmes and policies fail to address the acceptance, and tolerance for gender-based violence in Guyana, the high level of intimate partner domestic and sexual violence will continue.

Yours faithfully,
Danuta Radzik
Niveta Shivjatan
Denise Dias
Chabela Lord
For Help & Shelter    
http://www.hands.org.gy