Speak up, break silence on child abuse, protect children – Persaud tells families

Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud has called on families to strengthen communication, take reports of abuse seriously and speak out against wrongdoing as Guyana grapples with a series of incidents involving the deaths of children.
Persaud made the appeal on Friday while addressing residents of Moraikobai Village, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), where she stressed that protecting children requires greater involvement from families and communities.
“We have to start having honest, open conversations in our family, because if the families are not stable, we will have problems with everybody that makes up the family,” the Minister said.

She warned that while people remain connected to the outside world through technology and social media, they often neglect communication within their own homes.
“We’re so busy being plugged into the outside world, we don’t plug in inside. That is where we need to focus on, because if we don’t know what is happening to each other at home, we don’t know what’s happening in the world of the children, the adults, the mothers, the fathers,” Persaud said.
She added that homes must be places where family members feel comfortable seeking help and discussing their problems, rather than simply places to eat and sleep. The Minister also called for greater intervention by adults to address abuse, sexual assault and bullying, warning that these issues can continue when people fail to act.
“The abuse, the sexual assault, the bullying, whatever it is, continues, because nobody is getting involved,” she said. Persaud also urged parents and other adults to believe children when they disclose incidents of inappropriate touching, abuse, bullying or peer pressure, and to take their concerns seriously.

Internalising distress
She warned that children who feel unable to speak about their experiences may internalise their distress, potentially leading to further emotional and psychological difficulties, including suicidal thoughts.
“When children come to you, especially their little children, and they tell you that something has happened to them, whether somebody touched them inappropriately, whether they were abused, whether they were bullied … you got to believe it,” the Minister said.

She reminded residents that the law provides protection for children and other vulnerable persons, and emphasised that abuse affects both boys and girls and further cautioned that cases of child abuse frequently involve people known to the victims, including family members and individuals they trust.
“It’s not only happened to girls; it’s happened to boys too. We got to start talking about these things, and we got to start telling our children what is the right way, and what is inappropriate,” she said.
The Minister stressed that teaching children about inappropriate behaviour does not mean withholding affection, but rather equipping them with the knowledge to recognise abuse and seek help. She said the problem extends across all regions of Guyana and called for those responsible for harming children to face the full force of the law.
“Whoever did that, and whoever will do such things, anything to children, they should face the full force of the law,” Persaud said, adding that reports must be made for the relevant authorities to intervene.

National response
Persaud’s appeal comes amid growing concern over the safety and welfare of children following several recent deaths that have prompted public outrage and calls for stronger measures to prevent violence against them.
On Friday, President Dr Irfaan Ali convened a multi-stakeholder consultation and directed Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, SC, to coordinate an inter-agency task force to develop recommendations and actions to address children’s welfare, mental health and safety.
The task force is expected to include representatives from Government, the Judiciary, law enforcement, religious organisations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.
Among the areas identified for attention were public awareness, parental support, school-based activities, psychosocial services, mentoring, recreational programmes and the influence of music and social media. The review will also consider legislation, law enforcement approaches and the administration of justice.
The consultation followed three recent cases involving the deaths of children.
Six-year-old Orlando Jaikarran’s decomposed and headless body was recovered from the Waterloo Main Canal on the West Coast Berbice (WCB) on October 20, five days after he was reported missing from Bath Settlement. His father, Bharrat Jaikarran, was subsequently charged with murder and remanded to prison.
In a separate incident on October 19, three-year-old Keron Latchman and his mother, Donette Albert, 29, died in a fire at their home in the David James Housing Scheme on the Essequibo Coast. The child’s father was later arrested.
Earlier, on September 30, six-year-old Zi Feng Cao was chopped to death at Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), by a 76-year-old Chinese national following a reported dispute with the child’s parents over money. The accused was subsequently charged and remanded to prison. The incidents have fuelled calls for tougher penalties for crimes against children. President Ali has also called for an examination of whether the death penalty should be considered for the most heinous offences.