The Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Chamber of Commerce and Industry condemns the violence that has taken the lives of women and children in their own homes in recent weeks, and stands with His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali in his call for the nation to act.
In August a woman was found dead at her home at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. On Tuesday the body of a six-year-old boy was recovered from a canal at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, and a woman and her three-year-old son died in a house fire on the Essequibo Coast. Each remains a live police matter. Our deepest sympathy goes to the families and communities who are grieving.
The President has reminded the nation that men carry an important responsibility for creating safer and stronger families. We agree, and we commit our members to that work. Questions of sentencing belong to the Attorney General, Parliament and the courts; our focus is on preventing harm before it happens.
Our women and children are our future, and no region grows when its homes are unsafe. When a family is destroyed, a workplace absorbs it. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that violence against women costs Latin America and the Caribbean between 1.6 and 6.4 per cent of gross domestic product.
Region Three has already acted. Guyana’s first BRAVE Centre, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s safe space for men, is housed at West Central Mall in Leonora on premises provided by one of our members. We stand ready to help Government extend services for men and boys beyond one region, enforce protection orders in practice, resource shelters outside Georgetown, and publish data on family violence.
We call on public figures and every citizen to respond with compassion: check on a neighbour, listen without judgement, and speak up when something is wrong. A safe environment for our women and children is the foundation of our growth, and the Chamber will continue to stand with the President and every community in this work.
