GUYANA TACKLES GENDER DISCRIMINATION

The Equal Rights Act (ERA), 1990 only provides for criminal prosecutions where direct discrimination is alleged. The police should institute the criminal charges in the magistrates’ court unless a victim can institute private criminal charges. It should be noted that the police has never instituted any charge under this Act. This is mainly because victims are not aware of the Act and to whom they should make a report.

The Prevention of Discrimination Act (PDA), 1997 was meant to provide a more comprehensive set of provisions to address issues of discrimination especially those of race and gender. This Act has had little impact on issues of discrimination in general and in relation to women. The Chief Labour Officer within the Ministry of Labour should institute criminal proceedings under the PDA since it is mainly in the area of employment that issues of discrimination would arise. However like the ERA, no cases have been filed to date.

Previously, the law in Guyana with respect to estates allowed a person to potentially leave all their property by will to a stranger or even a pet animal. This resulted in tremendous hardship with many wives finding themselves suddenly without any benefit from the estate or even shelter, although having contributed to the acquisition of the home. A surviving spouse can now benefit from the estate of her/his deceased husband or wife under the Family And Dependents’ Provision Act, 1990 (FDPA). This Act makes provision for where the surviving spouse claims that the disposition of the estate of the deceased has been such that either by a will or on an application of the rules of intestacy or both she/he has not received reasonable financial provision.

A growing number of women in Guyana seeking protection from violence are utilizing The Domestic Violence Act, 1996. The Act was mainly the work of women’s NGOs who submitted a draft Act to the government which in turn took about two to three years to be realized. This DVA provides for protection orders and occupation orders and tenancy orders which are premised on the protection order, to be made by a magistrate. Considerable work has been done by women’s NGOs to sensitise women about the Act. However many women lack the financial resources to go to court and prove their cases. The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, due to a lack of funds and personnel, only facilitates the residents of Georgetown. There is need for greater legal aid facilities to assist the women and their children especially in the rural and interior areas.

Police and magistrates are in urgent need of gender sensitivity training since they are the persons who deal with the majority of domestic violence cases. The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (Guyana Chapter) is presently sponsoring country wide training of members of the police. There are unfortunately some magistrates who openly express views to women who appear as victims in their courts that a few slaps mean nothing.

Legislation for mandatory maternity leave for all sectors of employment is not at present under serious consideration. Some years ago a former health minister advocated legal provisions for both maternity and paternity leave but the policy and legislation were not forthcoming. There was also some opposition from some members of the private sector who felt that it would place undue burdens on them. While the Equal Rights Act, 1990 states that there should be no discrimination in employment practices and facilities as between women and men, employers are not precluded from “making special labour and health protection measures for women, or from making provision for conditions enabling mothers to work or for material and moral support for mothers and children, including paid leave and other benefits for mothers and expectant mothers.”

Discrimination on the ground of pregnancy is a criminal offence in Guyana under the Prevention of Discrimination Act, 1997. The Ministry of Labour, through the Chief Labour Officer and his staff, which is tasked with enforcing the Act and with instituting criminal charges for discrimination in breach of the PDA, has done absolutely nothing to enforce the Act.

It has been difficult to obtain proper data on the issue of HIV/AIDS. There have been women who have been targeted but these women are mainly in Georgetown. The National AIDS Committee is now addressing the collection of more reliable data so that a truer picture of the situation in Guyana will emerge.

As regards the Beijing Platform for Action, the work at the governmental level has been piecemeal and ad hoc at best. There is urgent need for a revision of the National Policy Paper on Women and for structured implementation of action plans which will lead to the mainstreaming of gender issues throughout government’s plans and programmes. Many more women also need to be made aware of the Platform for Action and how it impacts on their lives so that they can demand that their concerns are addressed in national budgets and programmes. Women’s issues and concerns must be taken more seriously at the governmental level so that pressure could more easily be brought to bear on the private sector. Implementation of action plans is key. While the country is undergoing structural adjustment, the wise utilisation of resources must mean the inclusion of females who comprise more than half of the population of Guyana.