“I am especially heartened because I feel very often in our programmes we focus on women, intervening and getting them out of tough situations, and we also focus heavily on prevention when it comes to women and people who experience gender-based abuse; however, now we will also focus on this missing element where we're tackling people who are perpetrators of abuse and violence. I think the missing piece of the jigsaw has finally been put in place.” These were some of the remarks made by the Honourable Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in Guyana as she opened the sensitisation session for the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Violence Intervention Programme on September 20, 2021 which marks the beginning of the Programme in Guyana. The PfP Violence Intervention Programme, which has been rolled out since 2010 in other countries in the Caribbean such as Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago, is a court-ordered 16-session psycho-educational programme designed for small-groups of court-sanctioned perpetrators which contains both therapeutic and educational components to support perpetrators to engage in non-violent behaviours. A key objective of PfP Violence Intervention Programme is to ensure that perpetrators accept responsibility for their behaviours, and recognize the costs to their partners, children, families and communities. Ultimately, this intervention programme seeks to engage perpetrators to make the necessary changes in their lives to restore peace within their families and communities and to ensure safety to victims. The Partnership for Peace Violence intervention Programme invites participants to examine their own lives to determine where the violent behaviour began, and takes a trauma-informed approach to persons with adverse childhood experiences. The sessions also model an atmosphere of respect within the group, prohibiting disrespectful and disruptive behaviour. Like the Spotlight Initiative, it includes a comprehensive approach to prevention, acknowledging violence as a lifecycle issue that must be deterred. At the start of the sensitisation session, Representative, UN Women Multi Country Office – Caribbean, Tonni Brodber also highlighted the importance of the PfP intervention in continued efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls in Guyana.  Brodber explained: “…the PfP was recognised as an important strategy under the Prevention Pillar of the Spotlight Initiative Project in Guyana, and even in the wider Caribbean region. It is a secondary prevention strategy within the criminal justice sector… it focuses on rehabilitation and deterrence through building skills on themes such as effective communication, coping with stress, conflict resolution, negotiating and anger management, among others, in order to provide concrete alternatives to violent behaviours.” Two experts, Jacqueline Sealy Burke and Shane Joseph, who were members of the UN Women PfP Expert Group that developed the PfP Programme Manual and PfP Tools, conducted the sensitisation session. The programme has been proven, when effectively implemented and embedded in multi-agency partnerships, to help reduce repeat cases of domestic violence, strengthening the effectiveness of efforts within the criminal justice system to make perpetrators effectively accountable for their actions and serving a protective function for victims. The activity was conducted within the framework of Pillar 3 of the ongoing EU funded-Spotlight Initiative Project in Guyana, which focuses on gender inequitable social norms, attitudes and behaviours change at community and individual levels to prevent violence against women and girls and harmful practices. -ENDS-

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, in partnership with the EU funded-Spotlight Initiative, launched the ‘Foundations Programme: Strengthening Prevention Approaches To Address Gender-Based Violence In the Caribbean’ on September 21, 2021 recognised as International Day of Peace.  The programme is organized under the Spotlight Initiative which was created in partnership with the United Nations, European Union (EU), the Government, and CSOs in Guyana to implement solutions to accelerate action towards eliminating Gender-Based Violence (GBV), specifically violence against women and girls within the context of family violence. The Foundations Programme is aimed at targeting youth aged 13 to 24 to become advocates for the prevention of Gender-Based Violence. The programme will support participants in understanding how to address the root causes of GBV such as socially and culturally bound concepts of the values placed on women and men, in their personal lives as well as socially. During the launch, the Honourable Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud called on all key stakeholders, including youths in the wider society, to become advocates of non-violent interactions, equipped with the necessary skills to address violence against women and girls which will result in transformative impact on sustainable development. She added: “This means that very neatly the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle (GBV Intervention Programmes) are falling into place and that's important because for us to truly get to the root cause of gender-based violence and have impact in a tangible way in our country, all of these pieces need to be there and for these pieces to be effective, all stakeholders need to be equipped with a deep understanding of their roles and how to effectively collaborate to become passionate advocates and passionate workers in this monumental task.” Recent data pinpoint that gender-based violence and more specifically, intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive in Guyana with more than one in every 2 women (55%) in Guyana between the ages of 16 to 64, experiencing IPV in their lifetime, which is more than the global average of 1 in every 3 women (30%). The recently appointed United Nations Resident Coordinator, Yesim Oruc reiterated the urgent need to tackle GBV at all ages, especially in youths, considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in spikes in reported violence against women and children. She said: “Guyana Women’s Health and Life Experiences Survey 2018 highlighted that solutions must result in behavioral change in both men and women especially since women themselves identify with beliefs which perpetuate inequality and increase the risk of suffering and violence. The prevention pillar recognizes that tackling these beliefs at the root requires investments beyond sensitization [but] it needs us to look at this [gender-based violence] in a multi-pronged approach focusing on the individual, relationships, families, communities and the society.” The launch of the Foundations Programme kicked off with the Training of Trainers component to equip twenty-one facilitators with the capacity to implement the 12-module curriculum at the community level. Representative of the UN Women Multi Country Office – Caribbean, Tonni Brodber further explained the background and the expected outcomes of the programme. She outlined that: “The Foundations Programme was developed in 2017 by UN Women MCO – Caribbean, with the support of the Maria Holder Memorial Trust in response to the increasing calls for the development and scaling up of gender-responsive violence prevention programmes for young people. The Programme is based on teaching concepts and techniques that help to challenge harmful and hierarchical gender norms, values and attitudes and encourage the adoption of social and cultural norms and values which emulate gender equality, respect, justice, fairness, open communication and healthy relationships.” Given the unacceptably high incidence of gender-based violence in Guyana before COVID-19 and the pandemic’s further impact on the risks for women and girls in this crisis situation, the Foundations Programme is a key step in eradicating social norms that perpetuate GBV in all its forms. Brodber added: “The culture of a society is a very powerful source of influence in shaping how we feel about ourselves and one another. All people in a given community contribute to how we engage and value each other, especially women and girls.” The programme will also provide practical approaches to achieving the six (6) key objectives outlined in the curriculum: Empower young people to understand GBV and its genesis in gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination. Promote an understanding of the consequences of GBV to partner(s), children, communities and societies in general. Endow young people with knowledge, skills and attitudes for addressing conflict and responding to stress and stressors that arise in relationships. Establish and model an atmosphere of respect within group relations among and between young people. Promote self-sufficiency among young people in taking steps towards improving their relationships and their lives. Create a network of young people who will advocate for non-violent relationships. Guyana is the second Caribbean country currently implementing the Foundations Programme under Pillar 3, the Prevention Pillar of the Spotlight Initiative that focuses on gender inequitable social norms, attitudes and behaviours change at community and individual levels to prevent violence against women and girls and harmful practices. For more information on the Foundations Programme, please visit: https://caribbean.unwomen.org/en/materials/publications/2018/11/foundations-programme#view In the words of the Honourable Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud: “When we have the knowledge, when we have the wisdom and when we have all the tools and equipment at our disposal, we must use them to empower people to be transformative.”    

Ms. Oruc brings more than 20 years of experience in international relations and sustainable development to her new role. At the United Nations, she held leadership positions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including, most recently, a senior role at the UNDP Representation Office in Washington D.C., USA where she managed key organizational strategies and partnerships. She also served as UNDP Country Director in Albania and led programme and partnership initiatives for UNDP country operations in Romania as well as Turkey. Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Oruc worked as a copy editor in Cairo, Egypt. She holds a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from the American University in Cairo, Egypt and a bachelor’s degree in political science and comparative governments from Yale University in Connecticut, USA.

Ms. Tanaka joined the UN System in Guyana in August 2016. From 2016 to 2018 she was the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Resident Coordinator. In 2019, as part of global UN Reforms, Ms. Tanaka left her position as UNDP Resident Representative to concentrate on the wider responsibilities of the Resident Coordinator for the whole UN System in Guyana. During her tenure in Guyana Ms. Tanaka led the implementation of the first ever Caribbean Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework (MSDF), a development partnership that supports Guyana in the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Ms. Tanaka has deployed the UN System in Guyana to address challenges faced during the 2020 national and regional elections, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support people directly affected by flooding and forced migration. With the European Union, she has enabled Guyana’s inclusion in the global Spotlight Initiative, which aims to eliminate violence against women. Ms. Tanaka has maintained the closest strategic relations between the UN and successive Guyanese governments since 2016, supporting them in strategic planning, helping them prepare for the effects of the unfolding climate emergency, and highlighting the challenges faced by some of Guyana’s poorest and most marginalized communities. Ms. Tanaka has worked tirelessly to ensure that the United Nations system supports Guyana to protect human rights, preserve democracy, and ensure that no-one, regardless of their circumstances, status or identity, is left behind from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Ms. Tanaka’s successor will be announced in another release.