In 2025, 333 men formally reported cases of domestic violence in Guyana.
“Men are affected but 80% of women tend to be recorded, and the men are slowly increasing in number,” said the country’s Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya on the Starting Point podcast aired Friday. According to the minister, all the cases were partner-reported.
While the Ministry’s violence-response programmes are officially gender neutral, many men feel that “when we respond, it doesn’t really move in their direction,” the minister acknowledged, prompting the introduction of a targeted “bridging the gap” policy aimed at making male victims more visible in the system.
Inside that policy, the government has launched new initiatives focused exclusively on men, including BRAVE Centres (Build your legacy, Reclaim manhood, Activate goals, Visualise success, and Execute fearlessly) and a Partnership and Relationship Assessment Program. The first BRAVE Centre opened in Region 3 in 2025 and offers prevention, awareness, intervention and rehabilitation services, not through courts or criminal processes, but via counseling on toxic masculinity, fatherhood, relationships, and life skills. The strategy is not to stereotype men or label all males as perpetrators, but to intervene early in cycles of violence, the Minister explained.
The pilot centre in Region 3 has drawn strong participation. “A lot of men came in. They didn’t want to leave the sessions,” the Minister said.
In tandem, “youth-friendly spaces” are being established to engage boys early, in hopes of reducing future cycles of abuse, and couples are being counselled.
