THE Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL) condemns the recent spate of violence perpetrated on the young males, Darrell James, Orlando Jonas, Joel Henry, Isiah Henry and Haresh Singh and the intimate-partner violence against the young woman, Lunisa Peters.

We note that the media, both print and electronic, continue to issue reports of numerous instances of women and children who have experienced in the most monstrous and brutal ways varying levels of violence resulting in their untimely deaths.
As an association, we are appalled and saddened at these brutal killings and join in the call for transparent investigations so that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes be brought to justice. An analysis of this level of violence leaves the association to assume that persons in our society no longer have respect for and care towards their fellow humans.

Further, the association is of the view that the penalties meted out to crime-doers in the past have not acted as a deterrent to end the cycle of violence. The question, therefore, is what more can we do as a nation to reduce such levels of violence in our society? While the GAWL is aware of the efforts of the authorities and civil society organisations to curb crime, interpersonal violence, intimate-partner violence and other forms of violence in our communities, it has reached unacceptable levels.

We can no longer ignore the fact that unless these organisations and other stakeholders pool their resources to build capacity, possible solutions to curb all forms of violence may lie beyond our reach. We firmly believe that the moment is now for a recommitment by all stakeholders to find appropriate solutions to curb the escalating levels of violence in our society. We express our sincere condolences to the families affected. May their souls rest in peace.

Yours sincerely,
Guyana Association of Women Lawyers