Georgetown : Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence during her end-of-year press conference, said that the Domestic Violence Act (1996) will be amended, and already there are some proposals in this regard. The Ministry is in discussion with the relevant stakeholders and other interested persons on the issue.
The Domestic Violence Act is intended to create easier access to justice for victims of domestic violence. According to Minister Lawrence, “We have recognised also that there are some shortcomings in the act which we need to fill… We have already begun to look at them, and we are hoping that in 2016 we will be able to take it to the National Assembly, take it to a select committee where we can have wider views and we can have the Act amended”.
Additionally, the Ministry will be merging the Men’s and Women’s Affairs Bureaus into a single unit to be named the Gender Affairs Bureau in keeping with the government’s vision and global trends. This unit will be launched early in the new year.
“Our policies will be more aggressive with the establishment of the unit, and we are hoping that we will be able to get the word across, that it will not be tolerated in Guyana and persons should not be hitting on each other or abusing each other,” Minister Lawrence stressed.
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