HGP Nightly News – Against the backdrop of renewed calls for a stronger domestic violence response system, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr. Vindhya Persaud is pointing to the Family Violence Act of 2024 as one of the ministry’s most important steps in trying to strengthen how abuse cases are handled in Guyana.
Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast, Persaud said the law was intended to modernise and expand the older Domestic Violence Act of 1996, bringing it more in line with present-day realities. According to her, the updated legislation recognises that violence within families is not limited to physical harm, but includes a wider range of abuse that had too often gone unaddressed in the past.
She said the law now captures “economic violence, verbal, emotional, all of those things,” and reflects a more complete understanding of what victims may actually be facing inside homes and relationships.
The minister also argued that the law was designed to make intervention faster and more forceful. She highlighted that police now have the authority to enter a home without an arrest warrant where there is enough reason to suspect violence is taking place, a provision she described as a major step in removing delay from the process.
Persaud further said the law imposes a shorter timeline of 48 hours for reports to move toward charge, replacing what she said was once an open-ended process that often left victims waiting without clarity or action.
Another major change, she said, is that police no longer have the discretion to try to mediate domestic violence complaints informally. “The police cannot mediate,” Persaud said. “They can’t say, well, you go home and fix it.” In her view, that change is crucial because it shifts the system away from treating domestic violence as a private dispute and toward a more formal process of accountability and prosecution.
Persaud said these reforms are meant to signal that justice in abuse cases should be swifter, more structured and less dependent on the kind of delays and informal arrangements that had frustrated victims in the past. But while she stressed the importance of those legal changes, she also made it clear that the law is only one part of the wider system.
According to the minister, the Human Services Ministry continues to play a central role in helping victims survive the process even if it is not the lead law-enforcement agency. She said the ministry has built out a wider network of reporting and support services, including the 914 hotline, the iMatter app, shelters, rental support and the Survivor Advocate Programme. Through that system, she said, a person can be supported from the point of reporting through to medical care, police engagement and court proceedings.
Her comments come as public discussion continues over whether the country’s response to domestic violence is strong enough, especially after Attorney-at-Law and Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir said last week that victims need a system that works consistently and inspires confidence. Persaud did not dismiss those concerns, but argued that the public also needs to understand how the system is structured and where responsibility lies. In her words, while Human Services provides support, “the law enforcement agency is the lead agency,” and that is where reports must ultimately trigger action under the law.
She also stressed that support options exist for people who fear being displaced if they report abuse. According to Persaud, many victims still believe they are the ones who must leave the home, but under the law, “the perpetrator has to move out.” She suggested that this is one of several areas where better public understanding could help victims feel more confident about coming forward.
Persaud’s overall message was that Guyana’s domestic violence response is being reshaped through both law and support systems. For her, the Family Violence Act marks a major legal turning point, but the wider challenge remains ensuring that victims not only know their rights, but can move through the system with protection, support and real confidence that action will follow.
