100 men in uniform engaged to help counter ‘alarming escalation’ of violence against women, girls

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr. Vindhya Persaud says there has been an alarming escalation of violence against women and girls, prompting more targeted interventions in communities.

As part of the efforts to combat this issue, 100 men drawn from the Joint Services were engaged in a training on Wednesday. Dr. Persaud explained that this is meant to help them understand their role in protecting women and girls while also holding fellow officers accountable.

The training encouraged men to think about some of the harmful behaviours people are commonly engaged in and impressed upon them the need to ensure that domestic issues are resolved in less violent manners.

Additionally, those men were apprised of the numerous initiatives the Human Services Minister has implemented- chief among which is the implementation of the 914 hotline for reporting social issues like domestic violence.

With this awareness, it is expected that the men will become advocates, ambassadors and role models in their own right- helping to eliminate the scourge of violence in society.

“They’re very important stakeholders and partners with the ministry when it comes to having the kind of good response where we can tackle what we consider the alarming escalation of women and girls who are losing their lives.

“Nobody needs to be losing their lives so everybody should be involved,” Dr. Persaud said, explaining the need to engage men.

Additionally, Inspector General of the Guyana Defence (GDF) Lieutenant Colonel Denzil Carmichael, who was at the event hosted at Army headquarters Base Camp Ayanganna, said the men in uniform will benefit significantly.

According to him, it is crucial for men to understand key values so that they can help to maintain order in society.

CHILD ABUSE CONCERNS

Meanwhile, there are also more reports of a greater number of children living in hinterland regions being abused and the minister said that improved collaboration with local law enforcement bodies and members of the communities is crucial.

Though official statistics are not yet available, the minister told reporters that there has been a noticeable increase in the number of children abused in those regions.

Further, she stated, “… we are seeing more cases of teenage pregnancy that result from child abuse and how we are dealing with that is strengthening the partnership with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to an extent.”