Hope and Justice Centre to be launched soon – Min. Persaud

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud announced the upcoming launch of a new facility geared at combatting gender-based violence dubbed the ‘Hope and Justice Centre’.

The construction of the Hope and Justice Centre is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Ministry of Legal Affairs under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme.

“In a couple of weeks, the Attorney General and I will be launching the Hope and Justice Centre the first of its kind in the Region, and the first one will be in Region Four.

This Hope and Justice Centre is exactly as it suggests, justice from the Legal Affairs Ministry and Hope from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security,” Minister Persaud said during the ministry’s year-end press interview on Wednesday.

The centre’s ‘one-stop’ operational model will ensure victims of gender-based violence are provided access to all related services under one roof such as counselling, police reports, medical treatment, and legal recourse among others.

Additionally, the minister said that the second Hope and Justice Centre will be constructed in Region Three, later in the year.

“We don’t want people to feel that there is no support mechanism it is there and it is under one roof and once this model works, we can do more of this across the country,” she underscored.

Similarly, the ministry will roll out a Hinterland model of the Hope and Justice Centre this year.

The ministry is slated to ramp up its awareness campaigns to ensure Guyanese fully utilise the upcoming services that are being made available to them.