GEORGETOWN – Guyana has recorded a 33 percent reduction in murders caused by domestic violence for the year 2024, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud said on Friday at an event held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. When we started with all of our measures, there was an increase in cases at first. Now, there has been a decrease and this may be as a result of more people reporting or maybe because more responses are forthcoming. But this does not mean that we should sit around, we still have work to do,” the minister explained.

Some of the measures implemented by the ministry thus far includes the Community Advocate Network (CAN), the 914 hotlines, the iMatter app and the Hope and Justice Centres. As it relates to the CAN initiative, the ministry trains interested persons within various communities to respond to gender-based violence. Some of the other services that are offered by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to eradicate gender-based violence. Additionally, the 914 toll-free hotline is the ministry’s main reporting tool for victims to reach out for help. The hotline is operated on a 24-hour basis. For this year, some 6,000 calls were recorded through this medium. Out of that number, 182 calls dealt directly with domestic violence.

On the other hand, the iMatter is another chat-based system to report on any type of violence. According to the minister, very soon the app will see improvements where persons can chat with not only personnel from the ministry, but they will also be able to talk with a lawyer, councillor or a survivor advocate.

Meanwhile, the Hope and Justice Centre is a holistic building designed by the ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Legal Affairs where any form of help can be found. This includes, counseling, police report and access to an attorney. “We will continue to make these significant steps so that we can work to eradicate violence against everyone. We have to make it known what we are doing so people can utilise these resources,” the human service minister stressed.  (Kaieteur News)

Photo: Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Vindhya Persaud.