— keys to tackling domestic violence, says Ramjattan

PUBLIC Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has suggested that better parenting, schooling, and religious and community involvement are important to tackle domestic violence as he notes government’s concern of every case of domestic violence.
According to Ramjattan, some of the challenges confronting society today have a lot to do with how young people were raised.

Their erratic behaviour, he said, often lends to domestic violence, requiring intervention by the police. The police and the minister have been unfairly criticised when domestic violence occurs. The police cannot be at their respective stations and on patrol and know when a man will shoot his spouse or severe the limb of a partner, the minister said.

He, however, agreed that the police do have a duty to ensure prevention and that is done by investigating reports and taking the matters to court.

“It is hard to prevent a case where someone is feeling angry and for whatever reason go and chop out his wife’s hands or take a gun and empty the barrel into a woman who is driving with him,” Ramjattan posited.

He called on community leaders, schools and organisations to act swiftly on abusers by reporting them to the police.

Ramjattan did not shy away from exploring legislative frameworks to address the issue of domestic violence, but according to him, that will have to be thoroughly considered as one has to ensure that whatever is proposed and put forward helps to fix the situation.

“I don’t know what we can do and legislate against that, it is an extraordinary difficult thing to do and as such we must develop and ensure better communities and start there,” the security minister contended.

He explained that while he is not sure what are some of the real root causes of the recent spate in domestic violence, he suspects that depression, bad marriages and relationships are contributors to the scourge.

“I am also of the view that education, socialisation, discipline and all of these things which might have been lacking at an early age might also be responsible,” he said.

RECENT CASES
Within the last month, there have been numerous cases of domestic violence, most committed against women. These cases received widespread publicity while others would have been dealt with quietly, either out of fear of embarrassment or due to the remote locations where they occurred.

Among the recent incidents are, the shooting death of a travel agent in the street earlier this month by a man she had been living with for a number of years. That matter is presently engaging the court, as the suspect, a Guyana Defence Force officer, who has since been interdicted,turned himself over to the police after committing the act. That incident took place in Alexander Village, Georgetown.

Soon after that incident, another occurred. A woman who had removed from an abusive relationship had returned to remove her children from the house that she had shared with her reputed husband. As she exited a car, the man began inflicting stab wounds about her body. She collapsed and died on the roadway in front of her children. That incident took place at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. The suspect then retreated to the house where he consumed a poisonous substance and later succumbed while receiving medical attention.

Last week, there was another case of domestic violence which was widely reported. A woman, who a man had asked to move on with her life after they were having issues, found herself back in the house with the man and during an argument, she was reportedly strangled to death while the man consumed a poisonous substance and he succumbed. He also killed his three pet dogs in his fit of rage and anger.

Also last week, a man during an argument with his wife, tossed a pot of hot water in her direction, causing her to suffer first and second degree burns about her body. Her condition was listed as critical.