Project

Colonial Roots of Gender-Based Violence in Guyana

In newly post-colonial Guyana, gender-based violence is “eating away at the fabric of [our] nation,” said the country’s first lady, Sandra Granger. More than half of women participating in a UN Women Survey reported being abused by an intimate partner. Femicide and murder-suicides between intimate partners plague the nation.

To understand the roots of this issue, this project takes a look into the country’s past of slavery and indentured servitude. Colonial power structures have left behind a faux hierarchy that relies on violence and contributed to a pervasive sense of hopelessness. 

Activists have taken the fight into their own hands. On the surface, this is a women’s issue. Beyond the surface, it is a story of systematic oppression and post-colonial responsibility.