I WAS looking at a documentary on NCN Channel 11 television, which was featuring sexual and gender violence and the role of religious organisations in this issue.

This documentary was based on a survey done in Barbados and sponsored by the UN, with a link to their roles in combating AIDS worldwide. A similar survey has been conducted in at least three other countries, as a similar UN-sponsored project.
I found that it examined what I would deem to be a comprehensive range of sexual and gender-related issues of couples in different types of relationships and how these relationships differ in the ways they impact on sexual and gender violence. Views are solicited from the populace about their views on the role the church plays or should play in couples and family relationships.
I felt perturbed that Barbados would have been so lucky or progressive to have such a survey done on such a vital and worrying issue that predominates in the Caribbean and especially in Guyana.
At a time when sexual and gender violence against females has escalated to a point where our government found it necessary to enact laws to deal with this scourge, a similar survey should be conducted in Guyana and subsequently televised and reported.
We should feel some amount of embarrassment that our local television station has featured this survey in relation to the Barbadian population, before having and televising a similar survey conducted in our country.