GEORGETOWN, GUYANA 9 September 2024 - The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) launched a virtual training to strengthen capacity on the medico-legal response to intimate partner violence and sexual violence. This training comprises of three sessions and will be completed in November 2024. Thirty (30) participants from Guyana have been enrolled. The participants are healthcare providers, healthcare managers, policymakers, children’s advocates, and legal professionals in Guyana, eager to strengthen their skills in response to violence.
Violence against women and girls is an urgent public health crisis in the Region and in Guyana. We know that evidence based, timely, and compassionate clinical care can make a big difference for survivors, their children, and their families. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in Guyana, 31% of ever-married/partnered women and girls, aged 15 – 49 years old, have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 10% have experienced this in the past 12 months.
The virtual sessions are designed to provide learners with support as they complete PAHO’s virtual course for health care workers and multisectoral responders on the medico-legal response to violence. This training, launched in 2023, is available on the PAHO’s Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH).
The course addresses the significance of violence against women and girls. It teaches clinical management of sexual violence, provides guidance on first-line support, introduces forensic documentation and its requirements, and advises on referrals. The training is free and self-paced, allowing learners to integrate it into their own schedules and to revisit modules as needed. Learners are awarded a certificate upon completion of the training.
The accompanying virtual sessions offer an interactive space to share experiences, ask questions, and explore how participants can adapt and implement this online training into their own practice. During the first session, discussions focused on the course content and its initial modules. Participants were engaged in discussions about how medico-legal documentation can contribute to achieving justice for survivors.
The design and implementation of this course on the Virtual Campus for Public Health demonstrates the commitment of PAHO and Guyana’s frontline responders to providing survivor-centered, comprehensive care to survivors of violence, while facilitating their access to justice.
The course is administered by the NMH programmes in PAHO’s headquarters and the Guyana country office. It is supported by Global Affairs Canada in line with the PAHO’s Strategy and Plan of Action on Strengthening the Health System to Address Violence Against Women.
