THERE is a problem in this country. This problem, frankly speaking, has been here for far too long! Not enough is being done to counter it, and because of this, this nation will never see its true potential. This problem is Domestic Violence.

The mere fact that more and more women are still being horribly beaten, kidnapped and killed by their partners, at such alarming rates, is disgraceful, and should be condemned by all bodies of authority – government ministries, religious bodies, non-governmental organizations, women and men. Instead, we have maintained our silence.

I was outraged after reading Tiffany Jackson’s account of her abuse which ended just a year ago in a nearly fatal attack on her life by her spouse last September. Her story was published in the Kaieteur News of April 3, 2011. This attack left her partially blind in her right eye, but her attacker and former partner has not yet been brought to justice for his crime, as the matter is still in court.

Nonetheless, he was released on $100,000 bail. It seems women are endangered specie in Guyana. Forgive me, Mr. Editor, but this country has truly gone to the dogs.

We have failed as a people to deliver our nation from the scourge of Domestic Violence. We have turned a blind eye to the injustice that occurs every time a woman cries out for help from an abusive partner and is ignored; every time a woman’s blood is unjustly spilt, by a man she trusts, and society does nothing.

Where are we to go from here, if we cannot honour the thousands of women who have already been battered and bruised, and kicked and screamed at, and murdered in Domestic Violence, by finally protecting the other women who are at risk of being abused? After so many instances of Domestic Violence in Guyana, surely, these organizations must know that Domestic Violence is not a domestic matter anymore.