DURING THE week, I received some overwhelming responses to the first in this series of articles on domestic violence. One reader, for example, sent in a heartrending story about a situation in Berbice, in which the persons involved in a case of almost institutionalized molestation were all children, all under the age of eighteen.
I procured a copy of the Ministry of Human Services’ 2007 Consultation Paper for its ‘Stamp It Out’ campaign. As I noted in the previous article, one serious concern with regard to effectively dealing with the wide range of offences which come under the umbrella of ‘domestic violence’ is that there is serious underreporting of what takes place in more developed countries. This trend was reflected in the background section of the Paper, part of which reads:
“A 1998 study found that across the Caribbean (including Guyana), only 1 in 8 women who had gone to rape crisis centres had reported the crime to the police. As many women would not even go to the crisis centre, the true level of underreporting is thought to be much higher. A study in Guyana in 1998 found that 6% of domestic violence victims reported the matter to the police.”

‘It is my belief that the official attempt, however, needs to be expanded across ministries. I can safely argue that domestic violence has at least as widespread a social problem as HIV/AIDS; yet, we have Line Ministries Programme that deal with HIV in a holistic manner, but no similar programme with regard to domestic violence’

No doubt, the political leadership, the MHSS and groups like Help and Shelter have undertaken tremendous work to reduce the incidence of domestic violence over the past decade and a half, beginning with the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in 1996.
Now, we’ve come a long way in expanding our definition of what exactly constitutes violence. Up to twenty years ago, probably less, the concept of shouting, for example, was not considered an act of domestic violence across the majority of the world. It was only recently, last year in fact, that France, usually at the vanguard of socially progressive legislation, made moves to ban psychological abuse in conjugal relationships.
I have an argument that if we were to hold our own citizens up to the standards we accept as universal, how many of us would get away free.
The Geneva Convention that defines how governments should not treat soldiers involved in armed combat, men who are trained to fight and kill human beings, prohibits the use of physical and mental suffering against captured combatants. Take a long hard look at the particular domestic situation that you know of, whether you’re personally involved, whether it’s your neighbour, a relative’s family, a co-worker, a friend. I am sure that every single one of us knows of some situation in which a woman, a child, even a man in some cases, is subjected to the sort of treatment – often both mental and physical – which constitute a breach of the Geneva Conventions if the victim were a soldier captured by enemy forces. Yet, these cases most likely would have been going on for years, often right in the public.
I’ve heard second-hand of instances wherein a victim who has had enough goes to the police, only to face chastisement from other family members when the police arrive to confront or arrest the perpetrator of the violence.
What is clear in situations like these is that a key and ever-present element of the domestic violence situation, even in the least gruesome of cases, is the exposure of children. Even when they are not directly the victims of the violence themselves, children repeatedly exposed to violence learn from the behaviour they witness. I remember this song that used to be very popular when I was growing up, the chorus of which is the thing that has stayed with me: ‘Children learn what they live/Children live what they learn…’  The young man that grows up seeing his male role model beating his wife and children is going to grow up thinking that it is right to brutalise his own wife and children; the little girl who sees her mother being beaten and taking her frustration out on her children, will grow up thinking that it is acceptable for a man to beat her. And that is how the cycle continues.
I again have to give due to praise to the Ministry of Human Services for their work over the five years. Priya Manickchand’s tenure at the helm of the MHSS has seen the rapid evolution of a Child Care Unit to a full-fledged Child Care Agency, headed by veteran social worker, Ann Greene.
It is my belief that the official attempt, however, needs to be expanded across ministries. I can safely argue that domestic violence has at least as widespread a social problem as HIV/AIDS; yet we have Line Ministries Programme that deal with HIV in a holistic manner, but no similar programme with regard to domestic violence. And there is surely an opportunity to tackle this problem at the root, the scarring of young children, by creating an environment within the school system that is sensitive to the young child’s potential exposure to violence.
Still, all this constitutes a work-in-progress, and only covers the governmental effort. What we have on our hand is a problem that can have a multiplicity of causes, most of which may not be explored and can only be explored through holistic mechanisms. For example, many programmes, not restricted to governmental ones, focus on the empowerment of women; yet there at least the anecdotal evidence that there is a relationship between women being empowered, men being insecure, and the perpetration of violence against women.
My view on the role of government has always been that it is a key component of the governance of any society, as the name implies, but it is not the be-all and end-all of managing how a society runs. For a problem as widespread and as enduring as domestic violence, it takes all stakeholder parties to come together and make sure that their collective effort covers every single corner of this country where this problem takes place – a universal sickness demands a universal cure.
Next week, in the final installment of this series, at least for now, I’m going to look at ways in which NGOs, law enforcement, religious organizations, youth groups and even private sector bodies not only can come together to deal with domestic violence in a sustainable manner, but why in fact they need to. Happy Easter to All. (burrowesk@yahoo.com)