ACCORDING to an article published in Demerarawaves, a 12- year old girl on Sunday gave birth at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), and both she and the baby are doing fine but authorities are probing the unhealthy situation.

However, culturally it is normal for Amerindian girls to be sexually active from as early as 10 years old, resulting in clash between indigenous Indian norms and values and those enshrined in the law by mostly coastland politicians and other cultural and religious backgrounds.
Amerindian culture is not always understood by some races and the press. Although it is the responsibility of the mass media to bring to the world’s attention violations of Amerindian cultures, sexual exploitation and rights, especially in this particular case of the 12 -year old Amerindian girl, some may believe that the Demerarawaves stereotyping of all Amerindians is a major problem. The recent case at the GPHC is a prime example.
The media has used the label of “culturally” to imply all kinds of possible negative connotations. Since the media and Demerarawaves do not use the term ‘culturally East Indians’ or ‘culturally Negroes’ each time a Negro or an East Indian girl gave birth at 12-years old or does something wrong, the use of such labels by Demerarawaves is wrong for any group, East Indians, Africans, Chinese etc.
To understand Amerindian culture one must first understand the assumptions of their way of life and the basic tenets. The media should focus more on the perpetrator in this case rather than her race, since the consent age is 16 years and she cannot give consent, therefore, a crime has been committed on a child. Child abuse is common in all sorts of troubled familes. While severe physical abuse and overt sexual abuse are clearly recognizable as traumatic to 12 year-old girl children, other forms of child abuse may be more difficult to recognize as being abusive among all races.
This article has sent shock waves among the ommunities as an insult and the first people of Guyana moreso on the month of their heritage. Some feel that this article by Demerawaves showed blatant disregard for the Laws of Guyana and human decency and must be condemned in the strongest terms.
These may include mild to moderate physical abuse, covert or less obvious sexual abuse, mental and emotional abuse, child neglect, and ignoring or thwarting the child’s spirituality or spiritual growth.