In the face of a growing crisis of domestic violence and escalating killings, Guyana’s Attorney General, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, has announced plans for a significant overhaul of the country’s Domestic Violence Act of 1996. The existing legal framework has proven inadequate to protect victims of domestic violence, particularly women.
Attorney General Nandlall, speaking during a recent broadcast of ‘Issues in the News,’ declared that the Domestic Violence Act would be replaced by a more comprehensive Family Violence Bill. This new legislation aims to not only provide civil remedies but also introduce criminal sanctions against domestic violence offenders.
Under the proposed legislation, individuals found guilty of domestic violence offenses could face imprisonment and custody, rather than being subject to restraining orders that may fail to keep them away from their victims.
Highlighting the shortcomings of the current law, Nandlall recounted a distressing incident where a domestic violence order was issued by a magistrate to exclude an abusive man from his home. However, the man, armed with a cutlass, defied the order and attacked his wife, illustrating the limitations of the existing legal framework.
The government’s efforts will be informed by empirical research, aiming to understand the causes and dynamics of domestic violence more deeply. An upcoming study, to be conducted by a qualified consultant, will analyze a decade of domestic violence-related killings (2013-2022) while considering factors such as ethnicity, age, geographic location, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The results of this study are expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the new legislation.
In the first half of 2023, Guyana witnessed a disturbing surge in domestic-related killings, nearly three times the number recorded during the same period in 2022. These killings have primarily involved women being killed by men with whom they had relationships. The data has revealed that domestic killings have become the most prevalent category of homicides in 2023, surpassing ‘disorderly’ killings, which held the highest statistics the previous year.
This concerning trend has prompted the government to take urgent action to address the crisis of domestic violence and better protect vulnerable individuals. The overhaul of domestic violence laws is a significant step towards combating this disturbing issue and providing greater safety and support for victims in Guyana.
