Urgent action needed to stop gender-based violence

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
In my quest to represent a land that I am very passionate about seeing thrive and reach a place where justice, peace and the rights of all are protected, I writhe with disbelief and anguish at the recent events of gender-based violence that are being perpetuated in our society like an untreated contagious plague.
In my role as an ambassador for Guyana, I cannot sit in a corner and remain silent about an issue I have been advocating for endlessly, both nationwide and internationally, in an effort to bring about change.
It would seem that my efforts and the efforts of all those who stand up against any form of violence in our country are, and have been, in vain. I have read repeatedly about several attacks of grievous bodily harm and the deaths of women and children over the past weeks, inclusive of young and old, who are victims of these unmerciful series of assaults.
I am puzzled as to why the issue has not been made one of national urgency, because, from where I sit, this is the sort of situation that calls for the state’s intervention. Our country is undergoing a current plague of violence as it relates to domestic disputes and child abuses that are not only hurting our old, but young ones as well. It is high time that we stop being bystanders!
According to local media, police have since issued wanted bulletins for Richard Lord of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo and Shawn Fordyce of ‘B’ Field, Sophia.
Fordyce is wanted by the police for the attempted murder of his wife Dorothy Blackman, 42, and malicious wounding of his daughters, 12-year-old Donette Fordyce, 26-year-old Wanda Fortune, and 20-year-old Latoya Wilson on August 2. Lord is wanted for the murder of his two children, Kimberly Houston, five, and her two-year-old brother Tarif Lord on July 31.
But, clearly, we are yet to see a statement being made on the handling of these issues and/or on conversations regarding solutions in a legislative manner.
In fact, nothing is really being said by the relevant offices that can actually make a difference. I beg to ask how many more lives will be lost before stern action is taken.
Sincerely,
Ruqayyah Boyer
Miss World
Guyana 2013

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