THE femicide headlines in Guyana within the last year have been disheartening, but unfortunately, they are not surprising. This is a pattern of insidious behaviour that has been prevalent in Guyana for a very long time. In fact, did you know that Guyana has the highest rate of intimate partner-related femicide in the Caribbean and Latin America? Femicide is the killing of women and girls in relation to their gender. It is an intentional act and a very severe problem in Guyana. Many women live in fear for their lives daily, and most of these horrendous acts happen due to domestic or family violence in homes. According to the World Bank, 8.8 women per 100,000 are killed due to femicide in Guyana. That figure is alarming because Guyana has small, tightly knit communities and is a sparsely populated country. As we usually say, “everybody knows everybody,” so the headlines are not just random faces of strangers—we are often re-traumatised by the reoccurrences of the killings because we usually know or know of the victims.
I wrote many times about the normalisation of violence, aggressiveness and misogyny in our Guyanese culture. Unfortunately, it is seen in some communities or households as a “norm” to “discipline” one’s wife. She must be “dealt with” if she steps out of line in many households. This sickening need to control a woman’s life, along with the choices she makes, coupled with a man’s sense of entitlement, is what I gather as a main underlying factor to this growing issue. This mindset is also “nurtured” or given space to grow within some families. The abusers are often protected and, in extreme cases, their behaviours are encouraged by family members.
Some people blame the weapon of choice, the woman’s insubordination and even the abuser’s mental health. I want to remind you all that while we can gather underlying reasons for why the abusers behaved the way they did, it should not be labelled as an excuse to murder a woman or harm her in any way.
There is an intergenerational cycle of violence that follows every generation of Guyanese. Unfortunately, children witness these patterns of behaviour and some model such behaviour well into their adulthood. A little boy, perhaps, will grow up seeing his father “handling his mother” and decide as an adult that it is the best course of action to use for his partner to “listen” to him. A little girl, perhaps, will grow up seeing her mother’s rights being violated and, in her mind, that behaviour is normalised. In her adulthood, she believes that it is okay to be violated because her education about domestic violence was never expanded upon, and she cannot differentiate between violence and love, because her childhood taught her that those two things are the same. This scenario is not just a hypothetical one to illustrate a point—it is the reality of what is currently happening in Guyana.
Domestic violence is not something that should remain within the walls of a household. In more archaic times, it was once believed that a man abusing his wife was something that only concerned the couple and was a “personal” matter. I will leave you guessing which gender normalised that belief and why it was even normalised in the first place. Decades later, we now have many local and international laws that are to be enforced when a woman’s rights are violated. It is no longer a personal, “at-home” matter—it is a legal one. As such, I want to remind all of you that it is necessary to report domestic violence to law enforcement in Guyana, because the laws are there to protect that woman, and we, as citizens, also have a responsibility to “see something and do something.”
Many victims are afraid to report it themselves, or certain barriers prohibit them from doing so. We can all be voices for the voiceless—speak up, advocate and assist when necessary. Most, if not all, the reports about the women who died at the hands of their partners within this year stated that the abuse was known among family members and the community. The abusers felt entitled and “untouchable” to continue despite this.
There needs to be a deterrent to abusive behaviours within Guyanese families, and as you read this article, I hope this motivates you to speak up more for a woman in need—before it is too late.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the 914 hotline or visit the nearest police station.
Source: Femicide infographic