Guyana to roll out new tech-driven plan in fight against gender-based violence

…new initiative will “aggressively” address violence against women – Pres Ali

Violence against women, which has been described as a crisis by the Government, will soon be tackled holistically as President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced a new technological initiative aimed at addressing this scourge.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government will be rolling out a new programme in its fight against gender-based violence, particularly where women are victims. President Ali made the announcement on Monday.
At the time, he was giving the keynote address at the graduation of 580 master’s degree graduates from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme. Incidentally, a majority of the GOAL graduates were women. However, with violence against women being deemed a crisis, President Ali noted that technology will be a key feature in the fight against this scourge.
“In the coming days, I’ll be launching a new programme for women. As I told you, we will be using technology to its fullest,” President Ali said.
According to the President, the use of technology in the fight against gender-based violence will help everyone. While he did not delve into the details of this new initiative, he was adamant that more information would soon be forthcoming.
“You will hear about that programme that will help all of us to aggressively deal with violence against women. Massive technology programme,” the Head of State added. It was only in March that Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had declared violence against women as a national crisis. He had called for collective action, noting that this scourge must be treated as an urgent matter.
With concern about the high rates of gender-based violence and femicide in Guyana, Minister Benn had committed the Home Affairs Ministry to supporting survivors and fostering a safer environment for women.
“Too many women in our society live in fear, facing aggression and disrespect daily. Our goal is to create a safer Guyana, one where women are respected, empowered, and protected,” he had said.
It had been reported in December last that Guyana recorded a 33 per cent reduction in murders caused by domestic violence for the year 2024. This had been according to Human Services and Social Security Minister, Vindhya Persaud, who had noted that the decrease in number can be attributed to a plethora of measures, including those that have been implemented by the Ministry.
“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 had explained.
Some of the measures implemented by the Ministry include the Community Advocate Network (CAN), the 914 hotlines, the iMatter app and the Hope and Justice Centres. 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 last year, some 6,000 calls were recorded through this medium. Out of that number, 182 calls dealt directly with domestic violence.
The Government has also been implementing measures like the Hope and Justice Centre, which provides victims of domestic violence with essential services like counselling and legal aid. Additionally, the Government has partnered with the Guyana Bar Association, so that the Legal Pro Bono Unit can handle hundreds of cases annually. This allows victims of abuse to access free legal advice and support.