Anger and zero tolerance for domestic violence

by Vidyaratha Kissoon

“..what going on with dem man there , dem killing out the poor women, I am so angry about it” the woman asked from the United States.

I was in trouble for my own anger on another matter and anger is exhausting.

News broke that Ganesh Dhanraj had allegedly killed Dhanwantie Ram in Parika.

Sunildatt[sp] Balack was charged for murdering his wife Lilawantie Balack. He had directed police to the place where he buried her and planted bora around the grave.

Oma Devi Nathoo lived with Sunildat Balack after the murder. She spoke out about the abuse she started to deal with ‘after one month’.

The violence continues and it seems not much can be done. Family remains one of the dangerous violent institutions.

In 2008, the then Government launched a Domestic Violence Policy. The document had been prepared by NGOs for the Ministry at the time, based on the experiences of the NGOs and the knowledge they had accumulated at the time.

The policy proposed eight thematic areas :-

1. Monitor and enforce legal sanctions;

2. Provide services for survivors;

3. Involve the health sector;
4. Educate the public about domestic violence;
5. Build capacity of rural and hinterland communities to respond to domestic violence;
6. Make provision for interventions with persons with disabilities;
7. Make provision for interventions with elderly persons;
8. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the policy.

Nothing much happened after the launch. There were allegations of child sexual abuse and domestic violence made against PPP administration The Coalition Government has not bothered either with any document or plan. The Coalition Government has already had to deal with allegations of sexual abuse. National policies require political integrity and leadership.

Monitoring and enforcing legal sanctions

Dhanwantie Ram was going to the police station at Parika when Ganesh Dhanraj stopped her.

This is in my head.

Dhanwantie Ram was doing what domestic violence advocates have been encouraging survivors to do, use the law, the legal system.

She did not invoke the narratives of Mother Kali, Mother Durga and other women who have subdued demons , she wanted to use the law.

Kitty Police Station on a hot afternoon. I had on some old clothes. I wanted to see what it was like, walking into a police station. I walked from my home, about 20 minutes.

I don’t know how Dhanwantie Ram was planning to reach the station.

I can only imagine the frustration and fear of any person going in alone to a police station to report violence.

I heard a man’s voice.. some ‘F..ing’ thing and some other people laughing.

There were bars over the counter. There were three policewomen sitting around a desk, about 4 metres from the counter. I looked through the bars at them. Do the police need protection from the people coming to talk to them?

One man was sitting on a desk, plain clothes I think, and another police office was on another desk.

I stood at the counter. One woman said ‘What can we do for you’.

I mumbled about domestic violence as I was nervous about the encounter.

There were posters on the notice board. Phone numbers for faith based counsellors. The notice board was neat. The station looked tidy. Statistics were posted up about the report of robberies and other serious crimes. There were phone numbers for the senior police officers.

There were no posters about what I could expect from the police when making a report about domestic violence

“I want to find out if I could call and make a report about domestic violence or if I have to actually come in”

Dhanwantie Ram did not seem to believe she could call the Parika Police and have them come to her aid.

Is there any information in Parika or any other place which lets people know that they can call the police for help?

One of the women said “Speak up, we can’t hear you”

Would a police have come up to the counter at the Parika Police station if Dhanwantie Ram had reached?

I said “Please come and hear me, I can’t talk louder’

Another office said – Come around and come in.

There was a half door with a bolt. I opened it, a little nervous, I had never gone this far in a police station before.

“I want to find out if people could call and make reports of domestic violence or if they have to come in.”

“We can’t give out that information” the youngest woman said.

Everybody was sitting. I was standing. There were no other seats available to sit down anyway.

I told them I was writing an article and asked after the Officer In Charge. He had stepped out.

“Yes, yes we take reports over the phone and we go if we have to .. we don’t have figures of how many reports we had recently”

Would Parika Police station have been able to help Dhanwantie Ram if she had reached there? How many reports have they taken? How successful have they been in dealing with the reports?

I asked if the police had any posters about what people could expect when they report domestic violence.

“I think the OIC had some” “No, some are in there.. the DV room.”

The older police woman pointed in the direction of the the room . She told told me to go have a look.

I walked to it. Walls in deep blue. High window. Some posters about “No to violence.”

Nothing about what citizens could expect.

Years ago, there was a project and the Police did produce posters but as with most projects, they come to an end and the posters faded.

There was a wooden desk in the room. No chairs though.

I asked about the challenges when dealing with domestic violence.

I asked them about training. I am aware that the police have cut down the training for recruits. The woman who talked to me had one year of recruit training. The other woman had four months and I felt that she would prefer not to deal with DV cases.

The police woman said that many times people do not want to proceed with the case.

“But we have a zero tolerance approach, we have to put through the cases”

Zero Tolerance

A recent study by Chandrawattie Persaud on the prosecution of domestic violence cases seems to indicate that the justice system is not really working in many cases.

The research showed that police prosecutors were not always experienced and that training did not deliver the outcomes. According to a Kaieteur News report of an interview with a police prosecutor. “.. the prosecutor stressed that training without constant monitoring and evaluation will go to naught.

Zero tolerance for violence though is larger. The police are a part of the society.

What would have happened if Dhanwantie Ram had reached Parika Police station and met a police officer who abused his or her partner? How would she know who to deal with?

Navratri night. A child is sitting on the steps of the mandir, not wanting to go inside. His mother is pulling him, hitting him. He starts to cry. I get angry, control the anger, try to talk to her.

She ignores me. saying he can’t stay outside. Another woman is smiling in an embarrassed way.

We witness people beating children all the time and say nothing. It is therefore no surprise when people hear men abusing women and also not doing anything. Some may call the police.

A bandit with a gun is probably more likely to draw more anger and outrage than a man chasing his wife and children with a weapon.

We have a high tolerance for violence and for using ‘family’ as a place where violence is okay.

It has not been easy since 1996 when the Domestic Violence Act was passed, to create this value that it is okay for people to beat their children, but not okay for people to beat their spouses.

Rosanna Harris, 10 years old, is dead after being attacked in school. Her parents had tried to engage the school on the bullying. Another parent of a child with a disability has not been able to get the school to protect her child from bullying. The attitude of the teachers is that the child must leave, rather than the bullying must stop.

The Ministry of Education allows adults to beat children and in that environment, people expect that children would learn to respect each other and to grow up and reject domestic violence and other forms of gender based violence.

What zero tolerance for which violence?

Even though the police receive training in domestic violence on an adhoc basis, what happens when there is an unhelpful police response? I have trained and interacted with police , but the training environment is different from the operational environment.

The training has to include unpacking the personal histories and experiences with violence. It has to build empathy with those who are experiencing domestic violence.

Oma Devi Nathoo, in her story, talked about going one time to a police station and being asked to do a medical. Not all forms of domestic violence result in visible medical problems. The intervention should include referrals to counselling services.

There is no accountability after training. The public does not know what to expect when they go to a police station to report domestic violence. The problem of inconsistent approaches is not one for Guyana alone.

Community Monitors

Red Thread and Help & Shelter have included court support and advocacy in their work. Roadside Baptist Skills Training Centre in No 68 Village Corentyne also includes community education and support for persons going to the Police Station.

Red Thread is currently working on a project in Regions 2, 3, 4,7 and 9 in which community monitors have been identified to work on educating the public, and providing assistance with going to the police. Karen De Souza, is the Red Thread co-ordinator. She told me that the community monitors go house to house, to invite people to meetings . There is a support group with the monitors, usually people have an interest in dealing with domestic violence. They try to build a relationship with the police stations, but each station is different and there are difficulties.

The community monitors are trained. Funding is required to pay people for the work they have to do to build zero tolerance. In some communities, the PNC/PPP politics intervene and prevent successes. It seems that the politicians are nervous about dealing with abusive behaviour in a meaningful way because they rely on abusers to maintain their political power.

Beyond orange cloth on trees and publicly funded marches and rallies , there is a need for the State to follow through on all the actions which are necessary to prevent domestic violence.

I walked out of the police station , still feeling uneasy. I would not want to be alone if I ever had to report an issue of abuse or violence. I am sure there are many police who would want to do the right thing. The problem is to ensure that all police do the right thing all the time.

Dhanwantie Ram was on her way to the police station when Ganesh Dhanraj stopped her.

There were no guarantees that the police would have stopped Ganesh Dhanraj.

The murders will continue. The violence will continue. The anger at each report of domestic violence has to be channelled into demands for accountability and change.

((Personal note : A woman told me I was abusive and sexist in my behaviour towards her. As far as I know, I did not intend to cause her any harm. She subsequently offered opportunities to redeem myself. A man told me that he was stunned by my anger at something he did and that he did not know what to do except back off. He has since taken steps to avoid me and indicated I should also stay out of contact. I was not aware that I was angry at the time.. I did not intend to cause him harm. I try to be conscious in my behaviour to ensure I am not abusive to anyone)

Update 10 April, 2017 : Kaieteur News of 10 April 2017 carried a report that said Dhanwantie Ram had obtained a restraining order. The article includes an interview with the Crime Chief in which he makes reference to the Domestic Violence Standard Operating Procedure.