Recording gender-based violence reports and other gender-related issues will be properly monitored at the Hope and Justice Center, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara following a donation of some 128 devices for data management.
These devices included laptops, tablets, desktops sets, and speaker sets that the Minister of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS) Dr. Vindhya Persaud said advances the country’s Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls.
“The Hope and Justice Center will significantly benefit from all that you are providing to us today so that it becomes an efficient working operation where persons can access hope in the form of psychosocial support, counselling, medical intervention, legal intervention and yes even make a police report,” the Minister of Human Services and Social Security said.
The spotlight initiative was signed by the Government of Guyana, European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) in October, 2020 and is a three-year programme funded by the EU. Guyana is one of six Caribbean countries to benefit from the initiative that involves partnerships among nations to respond to all forms of violence against women.
This contribution is part of the European Union’s efforts to strengthen Guyana’s abilities to properly monitor these cases and establish forms of mitigating the issue. In 2023 the UNPD’s Spotlight Initiative concluded and the government in 2024 took national ownership of the facets that were presented.
Now it has to establish the interventions and support for victims and that is where the Hope and Justice Center plays a significant role.
“We must open lines of communication and as the ministry is doing, deal with conflict in a very appropriate way where we acknowledge it for what it is for,” the minister said.
Gerald Noto, the UNDP Regional Representative said data collection and documentation to mitigate and monitor these reports is crucial for making provisions of representation and support for victims
“We work on information and data pillar and we work with the ministry and government to develop the GBV data base that is even in the last stages of expanding the capacity to be able to generate, analyse and introduce data to strengthen the policies,” Noto said.
The Deputy Regional Representative, Linda McGuire also said data is essential for understanding progress and creating effective targeted responses for success.
