Investigation to be launched into marriage of 13-year-old

Following a report that a 13-year-old girl was allegedly wedded to an older man over the weekend, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) has said an investigation is expected to be launched.

This is according to Director of the Agency, Ann Greene, during an interview on Wednesday with Guyana Times. Greene stated that the CC&PA currently does not have enough information to conduct the investigation.
“We (are) looking at it but we got to get more information to send the people out. We don’t have exactly where this place is or who these people are. I have it down on the list… I need more information on where we can find this child,” she explained.
Greene noted that this is the first report coming out of the Corentyne, Berbice area after quite some time. According to her, such cases were more prevalent in years gone by but had decreased significantly due to sensitisation conducted by the department.
“If they marry a 14-year-old (or), if a grown man sleeps with a 14-year-old, he will get (into) trouble when it is being investigated because it can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen (and) the laws state clearly on it,” she posited.
Nevertheless, Greene assured that the childcare officers were informed of the case and are seeking to muster the requisite information.
According to information reaching Guyana Times, the prevalence of underage girls on the Upper Corentyne being married has become a worrying issue. This publication was told that there were at least three such weddings over the weekend on the Corentyne. Many of those ceremonies were also reportedly conducted by religious leaders, for which residents have condemned.
At Number 64 Village on Sunday, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly wed to a man in his twenties. When this publication visited the home, the teen’s mother said it was not a wedding but a Jhandi. However, a relative realising that the media was enquiring said it was a birthday celebration.
Guyana Times understands that Police in B Division (Berbice) visited the home of the teenager on the eve of the wedding, after it was reported by public-spirited community members.
Residents of the community confirmed that they were invited to a wedding and that the wedding ceremony was performed. A Pandit from the community told this publication that the family had first went to him to perform the ceremony, but he refused when he learnt the child’s age.
Meanwhile, also on the Corentyne, a 19-year-old on Sunday admitted to this newspaper that he has been living with a 13-year-old girl. When the girl went missing on April 29, it was reported to the Number 51 Police Station by her family.
“We look several places and we did not find her. Two days after she called and said she was safe and we called back the Number 51 Station and told them,” an aunt of the girl said, while noting that the Police told them that once the girl said she was safe, “it is okay”.
The teenager’s aunt added that they later learnt that the 13-year-old was living with a 19-year-old man in a neighbouring village.
According to the teenager’s family, the Police did not seem interested in perusing the matter when they informed them.