Sexual Offences Court adjudicated 14 cases since establishment – Judge

Since its establishment in November of 2017, the Sexual Offences Court have adjudicated 14 matters with over 75 per cent involving sexual activity and rape with a child, according to Justice Simone Morris-Ramlal.
Justice Morris-Ramlal made the disclosure on Friday at the opening of a two-day training session with stakeholders of the Sexual Offences Court, with the aim of enhancing capabilities and being more responsive to the issues that are relevant in the adjudication and interaction with vulnerable cases. The Judiciary in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) at the Georgetown Club hosts the training session.

“Since the Sexual [Offences] Court opened, it has met my expectations and one of the aims was to provide victims a comfortable environment to testify in and with facilities that would encourage them to give the very best evidence. In keeping to that, I have attempted to implement the sexual offence guidelines which support the timely resolution matters,” she said.
She noted that of the 14 completed matters, seven were for sexual activity with a child by a family member and four were for rape of a child under 16. Additionally, the victims’ ages range from three to 28; with most of the perpetrators being over the age of 35.
Justice Morris-Ramlal further explained that 12 of the victims were able to have their support persons with them during their testimony. Of the 14 matters, there were nine guilty verdicts, four not guilty and one hung jury, with the sentences ranging from nine years to life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, UNICEF’s Deputy Country Representative Paolo Marchi said UNICEF is pleased with the Chancellor and Chief Justice’s commitment to tackling violence. He said the frequency and dreadful levels of violence is one to be concerned with and lauded Guyana for taking tangible steps to address sexual violence.
“According to records in the past three years, over 1000 cases of violence and abuse have been reported, this is a very worrying number in a country like Guyana and this is just the reported cases. This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“This year UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Social Protection is also supporting the drafting and finalisation of the national plan of action for the implementation of the Sexual Offences Court. Through partnership, we hope we can support the prevention of violence,” March added.
Acting Chancellor, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards said the establishment of a Sexual Offences Court is an important milestone in the Judiciary’s history, adding that testifying in court could be a traumatic experience and is especially difficult for persons who are victims of sexual offences.
“We need to understand that even the trainer need some sort of assistance, some sort of help, some sort of guidance in that regard and even the Judges adjudicating may need some help in dealing with secondary trauma,” she said.
“Training, counselling, debriefing and the employment of psychological skills are needed for the improvement of the services we prove… the improvement of the court personnel and all persons providing services in the Sexual Offences Court,” she added.
The training workshop will conclude today and Dr Diane Douglas and Natalie O’Brady are facilitating it. The training workshop is for officers of the court, governmental and non-governmental organisations, Judges and Magistrates.