— Ramjattan urges

THE trio of parenting, education and socialisation has “gone wrong” in Guyana, unleashing the wave of gender-based violence, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan contends.

Mr Ramjattan feels that males living in the 49-year-old republic are worst off by the errors perpetuated among the trinity and wants Guyanese males, from early childhood, to be taught to honour females.

“Boys must be taught to respect women,” he told a Saturday morning rally against gender-based violence organised by the Ministry of Social Protection, the ‘A’ Division of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC).

The minister told participants that the atmosphere within families holds the key to preventing violence reaching epidemic proportions in the country.

“Peace in the home brings peace in the world,” Ramjattan counselled. Recently, a number of women have died at the hands of their partners.

Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence, who recently launched the 16 days of activism against intimate partner violence, said domestic violence is “unacceptably high [and without] justification”.
“We have to put a stop to this… men, women and children are victims of domestic violence,” Lawrence reminded.
Guyana does not lag in embracing international instruments designed to help combat the scourge of domestic violence, which has seen scores of women being slaughtered by their spouses or by jealous ex-lovers. Globally, some 30 per cent of all women face intimate-partner violence.
Guyana has the legislative framework in place to fight domestic violence, but “enforcement has not been forthcoming,” Minister Lawrence told a meeting this week involving DJs and other local entertainers.
Enforcement has been lacking, although the Guyana Police Force, ‘A’ Division Saturday publicly reiterated that the body has “zero tolerance for violence against women.”
The lack of enforcement is also troubling, notwithstanding at a global level, Guyana has been championing the rights of women and have ratified or backed several international declarations and platforms such as the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna Declaration and Platform for Action); the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo Programme of Action).
Guyana’s position is also well known, with the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Pará); the 1995-2001 Regional Action Programme for Latin American and Caribbean Women; and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action).
On Saturday, Lawrence drew inspiration from Guyana’s international image on these initiatives and pleaded especially with the male population to remember the words of a local student who signed up against domestic violence: “When you get fed up, don’t beat up.”
This became the anthem for participants of Saturday’s rally, which ended at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.
“Communities are suffering because of intimate-partner violence,” Ramjattan said.
Lawrence challenged the nation not to vent their anger on their spouses.
“Let’s pledge to stop violence,” she pleaded.