She said some areas in which progress was made include education; the effective outreach of legal aid; financial and material assistance given women and children who have fled abusive relationships and the current hospice for abuse victims being manned by Help and Shelter (H&S).

Manickchand acknowledged that, apart from H&S, other agencies like Red Thread Women’s Development Organisation (Red Thread) and the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB), among others, offer support to domestic violence victims.

H&S and Red Thread are non-governmental organisations (NGOs) while the WAB is a Government unit established in 1981, under the auspices of the Ministry.

Manickchand noted that H&S supports victims in Court, carries out public education campaigns and provides counselling and, for up to six months, shelters suffering women and their children.

Red Thread is a Guyanese self-help association that assists women across race divides and provides information, skills development and other resources to address the inequalities that oppress grassroots women, she pointed out.

Manickchand added that the WAB, too, offers a wide range of services in the ten Administrative Regions and its mission is to work toward eliminating discrimination against women, help them achieve their full potential and ensure their integration in the national development of the country.

She said the WAB makes available services such as counselling on matters of domestic violence, spousal abuse and sexual harassment and seeks to educate the population about the Domestic Violence Act.

In this regard, the Minister said the law, promulgated in 1996, has provided a holistic framework supportive of women and children victims.

This, she explained, was supported by the implementation of the National Policy on Domestic Violence which is overseen by the National Domestic Violence Oversight Committee.

Alluding to the ‘Stamp it Out Campaign’, which aids the fight against domestic violence, as well, Manickchand said its focus is, primarily, on sexual violence, which has also been somewhat successful.

“The fact that the campaign is being referred to frequently means it has become relatively successful,” she posited.

However, Manickchand agreed that sexual abuse has significant repercussions on the victims, including dealing with unwanted pregnancies.

Her view on abortion is that women have and should have choices but, if women were to terminate pregnancy, it is the duty of the State to provide healthy surroundings for it, ensuring that the mother does not lose her life or become infertile, as happened when the issue was taboo and back street procedures were done.

Manickchand declared that the laws of Guyana are not made in vacuum but rather after the consequences of passage have been studied under review.