Dear Editor,
OVER the past few weeks we have been reading several reports in our daily newspapers (too many I think) of domestic violence perpetrated against women. In all of these reports the gruesome stories highlighted have caused most of us, and particularly women, to be seriously concerned, to be scared.

As a Christian, I am told in the Bible, and I believe, that all men are created in the image of God. It is not that we resemble God physically, as he is spirit. This is the likeness that sets us apart, and above the animal world.

Mentally, human beings are created in righteousness and perfect innocence-a reflection of God’s image. Socially, we are created for fellowship. God made the first woman because he saw it was not good for man to be alone. Morally, we are created to know right from wrong, that is having a conscience. So why is it that we read so often of these animalistic attacks on women by men?

The most recently reported incident concerns a man from the Corentyne who stabbed his wife to death. In all these acts, we see our men folk displaying uncontrollable anger in relationships with their female partners, resulting in many instances in the death of the female. These reports are too frequent not to cause consternation in the minds of us all. The question is what is causing the violence? The question needs to be answered in the hope that it could lead to arresting or at least reducing the incidences of this alarming practice.

In any situation of violence, the immediate underlying emotion is always anger, but there must be some reason why this anger is triggered. Anger is a natural emotion, even though sometimes unwarranted and irrational. It is expressed verbally and much too often physically. The frequent reports of which we read are of anger resulting in the physical abuse of women, but one can only guess that incidences of verbal abuse (anger expressed verbally) are much more frequent, but are generally overlooked. Why should our women folk have to endure such a risky existence? Society must do more to improve this state of affairs.

Anger can be seen as a disturbed psychological and emotional state of mind. A situation where there is a breakdown in our mental health, albeit mild and temporary sometimes. In our culture, society readily attaches a stigma to any form of this breakdown, so that even in some families, there is shame and ostracism whenever it occurs. In such situations there is a reluctance to seek professional help. Here is where we need to be more enlightened, so that compassion would replace stigma and ostracism.

It is true that most families might find it difficult to deal with a member suffering from this kind of breakdown, but shame and ostracism are not rational responses. Professional help should be sought. The solution, as I see it, is to introduce this subject in some form in our schools. So that at an early age children will come to view mental health as just another aspect of our wellbeing and treat it with as much importance as our physical health. This should give rise to a greater understanding of the subject and should lead to more enlightened responses when these situations are encountered. I also believe that as more professionals become available programmes should be established to make them available both to schools and workplaces, so that there is scope for a greater understanding of mental illness and also a greater possibility for early detection and remedy. I see the need for maintaining mental wellness as one of the main responses to domestic abuse. The man who is mentally well adjusted is less likely to treat his female partner in those cruel ways as reported in our daily news.

Regards
Rebekah Seymour