A resident Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) officer has been appointed to Kwakwani in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) to monitor and provide the needed guidance and assistance on the ground.
Social worker Laurette Smith-Gray
The announcement comes one day after Guyana Times reported that the social worker attached to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) and the Kwakwani Hospital in Region 10 , Laurette Smith-Gray indicated that there was a “high level” of social problems affecting the Kwakwani community, in the Upper Berbice region. The social worker pointed to the prevalence of teenage pregnancies, statutory rape, sexual assault and other issues.
In an article by the Department of Public Information (DPI), the Social Protection Ministry, through the CCPA, said that it has noted the prevalence of social issues in the Region 10 community and has sought to put systems in place to reduce the cases of teenage pregnancy, school dropouts, and statutory rape.
The report stated that all other programmes and systems implemented for Linden and coastal areas will be rolled out in Kwakwani.
CCPA Linden officer Huette Moore is quoted by the DPI as saying that teenage empowerment sessions will be held, targeting young people to prevent early sexual activity. Empowerment sessions include a teenage pregnancy prevention programme as well as the initiating of community action groups.
This publication had reported on Friday that on average each year, there are more than 15 pregnancies recorded, which accounts for underage mothers (below age 16) in Kwakwani. Smith-Gray had said that this was only the number recorded by the system, but admitted that there were other cases which the system may not come in contact with in riverine areas. She stressed that many of these cases go undetected. Asked whether there were any plans in the pipeline to initiate a similar teenage pregnancy clinic like the LHC’s, Smith-Gray said patients from the riverine communities were facilitated at the Linden Hospital.
Zeroing in on the situation, Smith-Gray opined that issues such as these were not treated with much seriousness by some residents in the Kwakwani community, and attributed this to the culture of acceptance of such issues there.
In relation to statutory rape, the social worker said in most cases, perpetrators were not prosecuted, since in many instances family members decide to settle the issue outside of court. “Most of the times, persons tend to want to cover the situation because it might be a close relative involved and on the other hand if the victim does not give a statement, then we don’t have a case. So, if the person refuses to identify who the person is, then we can’t take the matter,” she said. On a brighter note, Smith-Gray said there were active teenage empowerment groups in the community. She said teens were empowered through various sessions via these groups as well as other support groups.
