…says Human Services Minister
-WOW programme to hit hinterland, strong stand against domestic violence
THE Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security is mandated by government to provide support mechanisms for citizens, inclusive of seniors, the disadvantaged, differently abled, women and children. Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Jennifer Webster, on a recent programme aired on the National Communications Network, titled “Minister’s Forum’, said that women are the backbone of any society. “They are care-givers who give of their best in many circumstances…the time has come where we need to empower them as the efforts being made are not enough,” Minister Webster said.
The Human Services Minister said that if one is to compare what existed in the 1960s to present day, a lot has been done to ensure that the rights of women are respected and support can be readily accessed by them.
“There was a single-parent registry which was compiled in 2009…there are programmes which provide training skills to women, so that they can further improve themselves and be able to generate income…there is the Women Of Worth (WOW) programme which was introduced in collaboration with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, where women can access small loans, up to $150,000, to undertake small micro credit projects and other business ventures,” Minister Webster said.
The WOW scheme has been successful thus far; as such, it will be extended to Regions 1 and 7, to help women in those areas to tap into the plan.
“Many women have sought to tap into that scheme…some of them have been very successful; one such, because of the programme, now has her own day care establishment,” Minister Webster said.
Addressing the issue of domestic violence, the minister related that her ministry is treating this with much concern.
“I feel that, as a woman leader in government and parliament, the issue will need to be addressed across the political divide… it is an issue that we cannot any longer tolerate in our society, and we need to take steps through a number of initiatives to collaborate,” Minister Webster said.
Domestic violence relates to mental, physical, verbal and emotional abuse; and in most cases, women are affected, even though statistics would indicate that a minimum number of men are affected as well.
“Domestic violence also goes back to the issue of what children see when growing up…while we   passed legislation in 1996 dealing with domestic violence, there are a number of things that we still need to do; because unless we look at how the justice system deals with this matter, we will be unable to deal with it in a comprehensive manner,” Minister Webster said.
A national consultation forum will be held with women, from all walks of life, who were once victims of domestic violence, to provide counselling services and other support.
“While we have a number of non-governmental organisations, like Red Thread, who have done a lot of work in advocating the rights of women, the time is now for all to come together and continue to struggle to get, in our society, the recognition that domestic violence must stop,” Minister Webster said.
In recent weeks, a number of women have headlined news reports as victims of domestic violence, with some of them murdered by their spouses. (GINA)