It is your right to be free from abuse

The 16 days of activism have come to an end but we are fully aware of the need to keep the spotlight on gender-based violence. Guyana remains a country without a key piece of legislation for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) –The Amended Sexual Offenses Act in limbo.  Caught between the retraction/amendment of the former Sexual Offenses Act and the yet to be enacted Amended Sexual Offenses Act, survivors of sexual offenses remain without legal recourse until the Parliament is reconvened. 

We urge you to contribute in your own special ways to ending GBV. We thank you for reading and sharing within your circle, information on gender-based violence and a commitment to change. Knowledge is power.  Commitment keeps the lights on —on the needs of survivors, on failures in the enactment and enforcement of laws aimed to protect, on the lack of resources to assist the women and men facing GBV. Lack of knowledge and an abundance of fear contributes to the continued victimization of women and men on the basis of sex and gender.  The Domestic Violence Act affords us all “protection in cases involving domestic violence by granting of a protection order, to provide the police with the powers of arrest where a domestic violence offence occurs and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

Types of Orders

The court may make several orders on an application. These orders include:

1. A Protection Order - Protection orders are commonly referred to as restraining orders and have the effect of forbidding a person to:

·         be on premises where a person lives or works;

·         be on premises where a person goes for education;

·         be on premises that a person often goes to;

·         be in a particular place specified in the order;

·         speak to or send unwelcomed messages to a person named in the order

2. A Tenancy Order - If the victim and abuser are tenants of the house they live in, the court gives the victim the right to be the only tenant. The abuser will have no legal right to live in the house.

3. An Occupation Order- When the court makes a Protection Order, it can also make an Occupation Order. This order entitles the victim to continue to live in the home, even if the home belongs to the abuser. This means that the abuser cannot throw the victim out, but the abuser will have no legal right to occupy the house while the order is in force! However, this does not mean that the ownership of the house is transferred to the victim. It means that the victim can live in the house even though it belongs to the abuser.

Intervene, educate, agitate —starting with the people closest to you

We hope our blogs may have inspired you to intervene, educate and agitate on behalf of someone being victimized by GBV. We all have a right to be free from abuse. Violence is not love and abuse is never justified. If the abuser is not stopped, the violence usually gets worst over time. Let your family, neighbours, co-workers know.  Let’s continue to be activists for peace in the home. We are the change we hope for.  Our lives begin to end the day we decide to become silent about the things that matter, the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

Get help

If you have experienced violence you are not alone.  APC-Guyana, with support from USAID, funds 10 NGOs that can offer assistance:

Red Thread Women: Crossroads Women's Centre

(592) 227-7010

Help & Shelter

Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, Guyana

Tel: 225 4731

Agape Network Incorporated
Lot 2 Turkeyen, Upper Dennis Street Sophia
Tel: 219-2300

Artistes In Direct Support
156 Alexander Street
Tel: 225-5112

FACT
78 CORRIVERTON, BERBICE, GUYANA
Tel: 335-3990

Hope For All
Lot 6 Belfield Public Road, Essequibo Coast
Tel:774-4598

Youth Challenge Guyana
G Enachu Street Section K, Campbelville
Tel: 223-7884

United Brick Layers
25 Charles place New Amsterdam, Berbice
Tel: 333-4524

Linden Care Foundation
Kara Kara, Linden, Guyana
Tel: 444-6693

Lifeline Counselling Services
332 East Street, Georgetown Guyana
Tel: 615-6308

Hope Foundation
YOUTH CHOICE CENTRE MONGRIPPA HILL, BARTICA
Tel: 455-3144

Comforting Hearts
6-16 Coburg Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice
Tel: 333-4722

 For more information:

 The law and you pamphlet published by The Guyana Association of Women Lawyers – 2003 

http://www.legalaid.org.gy/files/gawl/law.pdf

Laws of Guyana 

http://www.law.yale.edu/rcw/rcw/jurisdictions/ams/guyana/Guy_Dom_Viol_Act.pdf

"The Domestic Violence Act : How can it help you or a friend" pamphlet published by the UNDP, Guyana. c 1997

Let's protect our women

Protection from violence is the responsibility of the state, community and families —never the victim.

Violence on the basis of sex or gender identity —gender-based violence (GBV)— affects women, men and transgendered folks. The most common form of gender-based violence is the abuse of women by their male partners. Women become targets by virtue of these relationships and because GBV involves crimes by people with whom the victims are intimate, perpetrators often escape the justice system.

Statistics on GBV against women from 2009:

·        27.7 % reported physical abuse

·        12.7 % experienced sexual violence

Amerindian women are twice as likely as Indo-Guyanese counterparts and six times as likely as their Afro-Guyanese counterparts to have accepting attitudes toward domestic violence. Overall, 18% of women believe that some beatings are justified.

In 2013:

·        638 cases of domestic violence were filed

·        2,925 cases of child abuse were reported  

·        670 cases of child abuse involved sexual abuse

·        88% of the children who were sexually abused were girls

Statistics on GBV are lower than the actual incidents because survivors often do not report and health and law enforcement officials are not often trained to investigate. Advancing Partners and Communities and the International Center on Research on Women, supported by USAID, are working with NGOs and Guyana’s National AIDS Programme Secretariat to improve prevention and response to GBV. 

APC spoke with Commissioner Nicole Cole of Guyana’s Women and Gender-Equality Commission on what women can do to protect themselves from GBV.  Here’s what the Commissioner had to say:

1. KNOWLEDGE BEFORE INTIMACY

 “To protect themselves, women must be prepared to investigate the character of the men they date BEFORE they become intimate. There is need for a Sexual Offenders Register as well as a GBV register so that perpetrators can be identified more easily.”

2. SELF-DEFENCE

“There is a valid argument for self-defence. The art of self-defence is most crucial since she will be able to take quicker action to save herself and family if attacked. The movie ENOUGH is a very brilliant example. To those women enduring GBV my message is pellucid "LEAVE" because GBV will destroy not only you but your family, leaving fractured communities and broken dreams!”

3. STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS

Many women don’t know the rights to protection offered under Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act and Domestic Violence Act. They provide victims legal protection from persistent verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, malicious damage to property, psychological violence and rape. By law, the police must accept your complaint and investigate. If women do not know their rights, they cannot assert them.

4. SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON GBV

GBV thrives in silence. Recognise the early signs of violence for what it is —violence. And talk about it. Talk to your children, family, friends, co-workers, and neighbours about ending GBV.  Intervene in all the ways you can —call the police, help victims develop a safety plan, accompany them to file complaints, seek health care, etc. Show survivors a safe way out and reaffirm their self-worth and resilience to start a life without violence. Women have more power to protect themselves from GBV than they practice.

5. RAISE CHILDREN FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

Women contribute to how children see and value themselves. Practice justice. Teach your children to contribute equally and reward their efforts fairly. Practice non-violence in disciplining your children. Might does not make right. Model how women should be treated and how to respond when dignity and safety are threatened.  Children learn and imitate what they see.

 Ms. Cole is currently involved in the PREVENTION of GBV project. She sits on the National Committee for the Prevention of Violence which was formed to address the 58 recommendations from a National Conference on Interpersonal Violence held in November, 2013. She is tasked with visiting schools, corporations and organisations to motivate commitment to violence prevention.

For more information:

·        http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2012/01/17/50-of-women-experience-domestic-violence-in-relationships-statistics/

·        http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/12/16/seventeen-women-killed-in-domestic-relationships-this-year/

·        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQVAqYXDG-A

For help, contact:

Help and Shelter

Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, Guyana

Tel: 225-4731

Agape Network Incorporated

Lot 2 Turkeyen, Upper Dennis Street Sophia

Tel: 219-2300

Artistes In Direct Support

156 Alexander Street

Tel: 225-5112

FACT

78 Corriverton, Berbice

Tel: 335-3990

Hope For All

Lot 6 Belfield Public Road, Essequibo Coast

Tel:774-4598

Youth Challenge Guyana

G Enachu Street Section K, Campbelville

Tel: 223-7884

United Brick Layers

25 Charles place New Amsterdam, Berbice

Tel: 333-4524

Linden Care Foundation

Kara Kara, Linden, Guyana

Tel: 444-6693

Lifeline Counselling Services

332 East Street, Georgetown Guyana

Tel: 615-6308

Hope Foundation

Youth Choice Centre Mongrippa Hill, Bartica

Tel: 455-3144

Comforting Hearts

6-16 Coburg Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice

Tel: 333-4722

No Exceptions - Gender-Based Violence Touches Everyone

Gender-based violence (GBV) is not another name for the violence that occurs within heterosexual unions and even more specifically, the abuse of heterosexual women by heterosexual men in those unions.  “Violence directed at homosexuals and transgendered individuals is also GBV,” asserts Joel Simpson, Founder and Co-Chairperson of in Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). Because of the limited understanding of GBV, attacks on members of the LGBT community “do not count or get counted.” “LGBT are popular targets for hate crimes at the hands of the general community and that is our biggest source of GBV.” Unfortunately, statistics on hate crimes do not exist in Guyana.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is any form of violence that is rooted in gender inequality. GBV cuts across class, ethnicity, age, geographic location, sex and sexual orientation. “GBV directed at the LGBT community may be physical or sexual. It’s also verbal and emotional abuse, public ridicule and faith-based assaults in which we are called an abomination that they need to pray away,” Simpson shared. “We are targeted from childhood to adulthood because of who we are.”

Intimate partner violence also occurs within the LGBT community. However homophobia and the illegal status of same-sex sexual behaviour seriously impede progress in reaching sexual minorities with life-saving services. Homophobia, transphobia and non-enforcement of domestic violence laws inhibit help-seeking for intimate partner violence (IPV) among LGBT. The stigma attached to being LGBT and gender norms that ridicule men who can be beaten present insurmountable barriers for many. People are just not coming forward to report these abuses. Often, when they do it’s too late.  Heterosexual women have great difficulty much less a gay woman or a transgender woman going to the police station to say I need help for domestic violence when the police do not even deal with heterosexual women in a fair way.

Findings from Guyana’s Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey released on November 19 showed that among 543 men in homosexual relationships:

•  22% experienced violence at the hand of their intimate  partner
•  22% reported being raped 

SASOD works to end GBV, stigma and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities in Guyana.  It documents complaints, helps survivors report GBV, advocates for protection orders, restraining orders, medical care, psychosocial, material and legal support including pro bono legal assistance. For more information on where to get help for GBV, call (592) 225-7283.

We can change community attitudes and law enforcement response to GBV. Find out what you can do to help. sasod.org.gy   

From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Gender-Based Violence!

Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana joins the global community in observing 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV) from 25 November to 10 December 2014.  Gender-based violence is any form of violence against a person because of their gender or gender identity. According to the Guyana Police Force Criminal Record Office, almost 5000 cases of GBV were reported in 2009 and 2010. However, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) report that most GBV cases are either not reported or accepted by the authorities.  What’s more, UN agencies also report that women who are victims of GBV have up to three times higher risk for HIV than those who are not.  The consequences of gender based violence are clear, and taking action to end it has never been more needed.


In Guyana, Government has taken significant steps by passing the Domestic Violence Act in 1996, the Domestic Violence Policy in 2008 and the Sexual Offences Bill in May 2010, and recently a Domestic Violence Policy Unit was established within the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. Services to address violence against women were also put in place— a crisis centre and shelter, training for the police, and raised the awareness of ministers, the judiciary, the magistracy and parliamentarians.  And in May 2013, Parliament unanimously condemned all forms of interpersonal violence, and announced “That the members of the National Assembly commit to actively supporting existing programmes in Ministries, agencies and civil society bodies such as religious, women, youth and community organizations, that address violence and interpersonal violence in particular, such as, the Domestic Violence and Gender Based Violence programme”


Despite their efforts, Government is struggling to address the fundamental question of how to bring about societal change to reduce gender-based violence.  But there’s no easy answer.  The challenge to change social customs to reduce violence and the spread of HIV infection remain central to building a healthy Guyana and need the support of our citizens, communities and development partners.

APC Guyana, with support from USAID, is working to strengthen NGOs and governmental agencies capacities to respond more effectively to gender-based violence as part of the HIV response.  NGOs are supported with new tools and procedures for uncovering GBV and linking survivors with care and protection.  They are also being supported to facilitate improved responses from law enforcement, justice, health and social service agencies.


Overall, the Government of Guyana and its developmental partners are committed to ending gender based violence. Less GBV makes it possible for everyone to have the the freedom to achieve new heights. 

Let’s re-write stories of gender violence

Today marks Day 2 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. (November 26 to December 10) This year’s theme focuses on the link between militarism and violence against women.  Over the next 15 days, the Advancing Partners & Communities Project in Guyana will be doing a series of blogs to highlight different aspects of gender-based violence (GBV).

In this blog series, you will see a lot of statistics. Some will convey the gravity of injuries. Some will convey the urgency of taking action in our homes and in our communities to address GBV.  This type of violence reflects distorted notions of masculinity —a masculinity that obliterates childhood, turns homes into battlefields and friendships into covert operations.

Gender-based violence affects everyone. Here are some of our stories.

                                                                         

                                                                                 Daisy

Her small plait got caught in the bed springs. The pain she felt as her hair was ripped from their roots was a perplexing as the weight of the body atop her small frame. She disengaged   her mind from her body. Too shocked to scream. Already aware that calling attention to her predicament was to risk being called ‘wutless’ ‘dangles’ and labelled a liar for life.  Her 11 year old mind had already understood the pecking order: male over female, adult over child.

Easter girl by Karen Wilson. 2013.

   Dulcemania

There was no pretence of love or being wanted. She was abandoned behind the veil of respectability, taken from the mother who could not provide for her materially and inserted into the marital home of the father who would not provide for her emotionally. She was a constant reminder of her father’s assertion of manhood —unbridled control over her mother, his wife and the maids who waxed the cool cement tiles.

Friends by Mzacha

Howie

He could have been called “Thin Slice” –a tall, sliver of mocha that you wanted to enjoy.  He was a Lionel Ritchie Casanova, the type that Caribbean girls could not resist. Howie was sweet sexiness in the homophobic hurricane of the Caribbean.  He came of age in a fraternity of friends who teased about not wanting to be too close lest they be mistaken for “batty man” or “anti-man.”  He got married in an unforgettable wedding. When his wife left home abruptly and wanted an annulment, we were all confused. Within the year, those of us who shared his room, his smile and his quiet terror of being “outed,” said goodbye to what         remained of Thin Slice.

Business Man Black Silhouette by Karen Arnold

These 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence are about rewriting these stories to create safety for all the Daisies, Dulcemenias and Howies in our homes and communities. Join us and share your thought about what we can do to end gender-based violence.