At the current sitting of the criminal assizes in the three counties of Guyana, numerous sexual offences cases involving children have come up for hearing, and have been dealt with expeditiously.
Only on Tuesday, the case of another teen, an 11-year-old from the Essequibo Coast, came up for trial before High Court Justice Gino Persaud.
Based on the reports coming out of the court, there is no doubt that the Judiciary has been dealing very effectively and efficiently with the cases brought before it with respect to serious sexual offences committed on underage children.
As a matter of fact, this publication had reported that the High Court Judges who have presided in the Sexual Offences Courts across the three counties have said that the specialised courtrooms are yielding speedier trials. The Judges also shared that the prosecutors appear more attuned than in any other criminal court settings.
Significantly, one of the Judges, Justice Brassington Reynolds, on the third anniversary of the Sexual Offences Court, said productivity was enhanced by the proficiencies garnered from being better able to marshal its resources in the specialised environment.
The Judiciary should therefore be congratulated, and more resources should flow in its direction to ensure that the Courts’ capacity is boosted to tackle all issues related to sexual offences committed, particularly against minors. This is, of course, a massive improvement in the status quo in Guyana as far as the dispensation of justice is concerned.
If one were to examine the pattern of sentencing, it would be recognised that the impositions are meant to serve as a deterrent and a strong signal to our society that such acts of gross indecency, which violate the very moral fabric of society and endanger our young people, would not be tolerated or go unpunished.
Recently, sentences for sexual offences’ convictions ranged from the minimum of four years’ imprisonment to the maximum of a life sentence. The offences included rape, rape of a child under 16, sexual activity with a child family member, and carnal knowledge.
Unfortunately, the courts can do only so much, and the real problem is still not being addressed so as to cause a massive reduction in the cases of child sex abuse and rape.
Earlier this year, the Social Protection Ministry released a report, compiled by the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), which states that 3129 children in Guyana faced some type of abuse in 2020.
More startling is the fact that high on the types of abuse are sexual abuse. In the high category of sexual abuse, the CCPA found that 688 girls were sexually abused, with 382 between the ages of 14 and 18 being abused at home. Astonishing also is the fact that many of these girls were violated and abused by persons brought into the homes, especially by their mothers. While girls are predominantly the victims of sexual abuse, boys experience abuse as well. The CCPA report 127 boys were sexually abused.
Guyana does not need more complex laws to tackle or prevent paedophiles from hurting our children, but, rather, stricter enforcement of existing laws and more national programmes aimed at educating communities about the laws that protect children, as a deterrent to those with such an inclination.
In its quest to end violence – both sexual and physical – against children, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) had made several recommendations which, if taken seriously, could go a far way in protecting our children. Among the recommendations are: (i) Adopting well-coordinated national action plans to end violence against children – incorporating education, social welfare, justice and health systems, as well as communities and children themselves. (ii) Changing behaviours of adults and addressing factors that contribute to violence against children, including cultural norms that condone violence. (iii) Focusing national policies on minimising violent behaviour. (iv) Building social service systems and training social workers to provide referrals, counselling and therapeutic services for children. (v) Educating children, parents, teachers, and community members to recognise violence in all its many forms, and empowering them to speak out and report violence safely; and (vi) collecting better disaggregated data on violence against children and tracking progress through robust monitoring and evaluation.
As this publication has consistently said, children, irrespective of their ethnic, religious, cultural or social backgrounds, deserve to grow up in an environment where they feel safe from all forms of violence, especially sexual violence.
