GUYANA will continue to receive support from the United States Government in an effort to end gender- based violence and HIV-related stigma and discrimination, in order to improve the lives of every Guyanese, according to Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy, Mr. Bryan Hunt.

He was speaking at a stakeholders meeting hosted by representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Advancing Partnering and Communities project.
In brief remarks at the meeting at Grand Costal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, he said that by advancing the social quality for those affected by HIV, for women, and for those who are still on the margins of society would be “the pathway to achieving zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS- related deaths.”

NEW OUTLOOK
This approach is supported by the findings from the rapid assessment on HIV-related stigma and discrimination and gender-based violence. The study shows that there is a need for a new outlook on structural and programmatic directions in Guyana for a high turnover in results when it comes to addressing the issue of HIV-related stigma and gender-based violence.
There is need for the integration of gender-based violence prevention, and stigma and discrimination reduction into existing health programmes, in addition to improving the use of data and research to enhance gender-based violence prevention and response efforts, and expand efforts to address gender-based violence.

IMPLICATIONS
Fundamentally, however, Hunt noted that these implications play significant implications for the continued spread of HIV. They re-enforce prevailing gender, race and socio-economic inequities that hinder access to the resources made available for prevention. Worldwide, as many as one in three women are beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way, most often by an intimate partner or another male family member. The risk for HIV among female survivors of violence is up to three times higher than the HIV risk for women who have not been subjected to violence.
In Guyana, according to Red Thread organisation, 26.6% of women in a relationship reported personal experience of physical abuse, 2.1 % verbal abuse and a 65.8 had suffered sexual abuse. “The magnitude of each epidemic is troubling, offends our sense of humanity and constrains, in very concrete ways, the potential of achieving universal access to HIV treatment, care and support services to achieve an HIV-free generation.”

(Clestine Juan)