Several young women with disabilities have benefitted from a gender-based violence (GBV) workshop organised by the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The workshop was launched on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, and the feature address was given by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.
GCOPD Programme Manager Ganesh Singh and GCOPD Women with Disabilities Network Coordinator Rosemarie Ramitt delivered brief remarks. Yesim Oruc, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, was also in attendance.
The GBV workshop for young women with disabilities was held in observance of International Day for Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), which would be held on December 3, and in observance of the “16 Days of Activism” to end GBV (November 25-December 10).
According to Singh, over the years, not many programmes have been implemented to expose women and girls with disabilities to GBV.
Additionally, he noted that very few women and girls with disabilities are aware of their rights, and lack knowledge of the available GBV services. With this workshop and continuous online and in-person training, GCOPD hopes to sensitise and empower women and girls with disabilities.
The GCOPD is the umbrella body that represents most of the disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) across Guyana, and it works in the areas of advocacy and capacity building. The DPOs represent all types of disabilities.
