Dear Editor,

THE Guyana Independence Anniversary Celebration Committee (New York Chapter) on Tuesday launched a campaign to stamp out domestic violence in Guyana. The campaign’s theme is “STAMP IT OUT AND SAVE LIVES!”
We have written to President David Granger and all Members of Parliament advocating that the Domestic Violence Act be amended to include new law enforcement, social services and judicial measures, enumerated herein, to combat the domestic violence epidemic.
The high incidence of women being murdered by their spouses should alarm every Guyanese. Domestic violence knows no gender. Although this atrocity is a significant cause of death among women, men are also victims.

Neither is it limited to violence against a spouse or partner; it includes violence against every member of a household. Our campaign, therefore, seeks to cultivate a culture that rejects all forms of domestic violence and abuse. Hence, there must be uniform, across-the-board rejection of domestic violence against both women and men.
Recently, there was warranted, voluble public outrage against Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Captain Orwain Sandy, who allegedly shot and killed his spouse, Ms. Reona Payne. Concurrently, however, were saturating news reports that Anita Nazeema Khan and an accomplice were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Khan’s husband, Mr. Abdool Shakeel Majid. Reaction to this gruesome murder, however, was mute. We must eschew double standards on this issue.

Recently, the wife of the then sitting police commissioner allegedly made a police report against him for alleged domestic violence. That report was not investigated, and the commissioner continued in office until retirement. This was a disgraceful failure of the criminal justice system to protect a victim. Unfortunately, this happens every day in Guyana. This campaign is to ensure that society no longer trivialises domestic violence against women, and disregards such violence against men.
This breakdown fails victims, and perpetuates the culture that normalises this criminal conduct.

Our endeavour is to uproot and to reverse this culture. The mission of our campaign is to teach victims to stay positive; get out of abusive relationships; seek help; and always report abuse.

We will lobby the government to amend the Domestic Violence Act to require mandatory charges and prosecutions whenever there is probable cause for an arrest; empower the director of public prosecutions to pursue prosecutions by way of the evidence in cases where victims decline to press charges or testify against abusers; make domestic violence a felony with harsh penalties, including revoking the driver’s licence of individuals convicted of domestic violence; establish a domestic violence bureau in the Guyana Police Force that maintains data on each reported case; and train police officers to investigate such cases.
The amended Act should also establish domestic violence counselling centres and victims’ shelters in all 10 regions; provide for continuous domestic violence awareness campaigns nationwide; teach domestic violence awareness and prevention in schools and throughout society.

We are determined to help fashion a culture that accepts that domestic violence is a serious crime,is not gender-specific, and must be stamped out. If these or similar policies are not enacted by the next general elections, we will introduce this issue into the general election campaign and identify to voters the candidates who bear responsibility for refusing to save lives.

This committee will put its money where its mouth is!  We will intensify our media awareness campaign in phases. We invite all Guyanese to join this campaign by sharing our flyer, and writing letters to President Granger, Cabinet ministers and Members of Parliament, urging that these measures be enacted.

Regards
RICKFORD BURKE
Chairman