Research shows that one in every four girls across the world is usually victim of sexual abuse before she reaches the age of eighteen years. It also shows that one in every six boys is likely to be victim of child sex abuse before he reaches 18. Information available from the United Nations also reveals that 75 per cent of those children remain silent about the abuse, while another ten per cent who speak out are rebuffed by the adults who seek to cover up the abuse.
And what is also appalling is the fact that, ninety per cent (90%) of the time, the perpetrator of the sex abuse or sexual grooming is in a position of trust and is known to the victim.
The wider problem is that while victims’ emotional and physical bruises may heal over time, the scars they endure last a lifetime – and most times force them to seek justice at a later stage in their lives, if not upon attainment of adulthood and independence.
This is the context within which the allegations made against Coen Jackson, a senior teacher at the Bishops’ High School, must be seen. Jackson, over the past two and a half weeks, has been accused of sexually grooming his female students until they reach the age of consent, and then entering into relationships with them even though they are not yet legally adults. He has also been accused of making incident sexual proposals to students under his direct supervision at the school and at his private lessons in return for good grades and free tutoring. These allegations surfaced in the mainstream media over the past four days only after first being made by the Education Ministry’s Cultural Policy Advisor Ruel Johnson, who himself is no stranger to controversy and is no champion of truth or fairness.
Johnson reported what he said was Jackson’s misconduct and reprehensible behaviour to his superiors within the Ministry, and several powerful officials within the coalition Government which he serves as a political appointee and social media propagandist. He did so after ranting and raving on his Facebook profile and building a movement against the teacher, before the process was officially followed and activated to probe the accusations against Jackson.
Johnson admitted that he was personally involved in getting evidence from victims who came forward, because he was on a mission to ensure that Jackson was ousted from the public education system.
Even though many believe that Johnson went after the teacher only because of a personal grudge and vendetta, others are glad that his allegations have exposed the teacher’s alleged misconduct and resulted in immediate action on the part of the Ministry and the Guyana Police Force. Johnson’s action has also activated an informal public discourse about child sex abuse, child predatory behaviour, paedophilia, and sexual offences in general. There is also the development of a clear movement aimed at ensuring the protection and safety of our children in school.
More whistle blowers must come forward, and the children who were victims of child sex abuse must be encouraged to come forward, in order to get the justice and post-trauma counselling they deserve. As a nation, we cannot afford to stand on the side of the abusers, or justify the abuse. We must not wish it away or cover it up, or men like Jackson — who is accused of soliciting sex from minors or girls who are not yet adults — will become emboldened as they look desperately to find loopholes in the law. We must believe our boys and girls the first time, and then look for proof.
We must also demonstrate caution against unduly bashing and labelling as well as shaming those who are accused, because we can undermine the entire justice process if we do not respect the fact that someone is innocent until proven guilty. That is where Johnson and his cyber bullies erred, as they cannot cry for justice on one hand and then seek to arrogate unto themselves the roles of judge, jury and executioner. The law must run its course. It would be a travesty if none of the allegations made against Jackson is proven in court, or fail to past the litmus legal test.
The Police must therefore conduct their investigations from a sober standpoint, disabusing their minds from emotions or bias in favour of either party. They must demonstrate professionalism when dealing with all matters relating to sexual offences, even if they are not as high profile in nature as the BHS sex scandal.
In the end, all of those teachers who had known about Jackson’s pattern of predatory behaviour and style but did nothing are also guilty of child endangerment and supporting the abuse of our children. Nothing the head teacher at Bishop’s High School says or does now will redeem her in the eyes of right thinking Guyanese, even if she apologises for her highly irrational outburst at the assembly, in which she rebuked students for not running to Jackson’s defence. It is adults like her who create the right conditions for victims of abuse to feel as if it was their fault, or they would be blamed for the pain they endured. She must be demoted or disciplined accordingly. The nation awaits the outcome of this entire saga, and the Ministry must now go on a nationwide campaign to probe all allegations of sexual misconduct against teachers, if it is really serious about reforms.
We must all learn from this ordeal, and we must recommit ourselves to protecting the innocence of our boys and girls. We are all duty bound to put an end to forms of violence against vulnerable groups and minority. Revising the age of consent is not the place to start our activism, but providing those who are alleged victims of child sex abuse with the support they need is a step in the direction towards healing.
We must not sit on the fence. Our children are our future, and we are custodians of their wellbeing. We must understand that justice for the alleged victims of Sir Jackson’s sexual grooming and predatory behaviour must not just be done, but must be seen to be done, or all hope would be lost.
