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Human Services Minister, Jennifer Webster said so yesterday when she spoke to the Chronicle in an invited comment.
The campaign was supposed to have been re-launched ever since but according to the minister, funding is not yet available. Authorities are now working to form private partnerships so that the necessary funding may become available, Webster disclosed.
The re-launch is in view of recent cases of abuse that ended fatally for some women. “So this is something we need to pay attention to,” she told the Guyana Chronicle on a previous occasion.
Webster said the thrust is also intended to sensitise women who are afraid to come forward and speak out. A countrywide anti-domestic violence drive will seek to further edify women about speaking about and taking action on the issue “before it is too late.”
“I would like to urge all stakeholders to come on board, so that we can work together to address the problematic issues of enforcement and prosecution. It is necessary for us to interact with women in all communities, so that we can be able to provide assistance to them in a timely manner,” she pointed out.
According to her, Guyanese women should be “celebrated” and not violated because of their perceived weaknesses or subordination.
Webster had noted that the single parent initiative, Women of Worth (WOW) and the recent formation of the constitutional Women and Gender Equality Commission will further promote issues related to the enhancement of the status of women and girls.
Meanwhile, President Donald Ramotar had vowed not to sit idly by and allow Guyanese women to continue suffering at the hands of violent spouses and he called for a reorientation in the way the police approach and address the question.
He had told staff of the Human Services Ministry that government will ensure the effective functioning of the systems that are put in place to provide a safe refuge for women in Guyana. “It is a criminal and abhorrent act when any woman is abused emotionally, mentally or physically and no woman should be a victim of sexual or domestic violence,” President Ramotar said.
The Head of State said he believes that the police, with whom the responsibility lies to investigate cases of domestic abuse, should know that such issues should be treated with sensitivity and, in that regard, advocated training for this to be accomplished.
“Too often, people take the position that this is a family matter…we see, in many cases, it ends in murder and loss of life. The government has sought to break the silence on these atrocities and is committed to the sustained rejection of abuse in any form,” he added.
