“Violence against children and youths — which include child abuse, child neglect and sexual abuse — poses a threat to our schools, our health, our wellbeing and the future of Guyana,” reported Probation and Social Services Officer Mr. Desmond Nelson, as he addressed a rally in New Amsterdam that sought to rein in the societal ills destroying our younger generation.

“All are at risk, since violence against the youth and the children has no race (and) no class or culture; as it occurs on the street, in our homes, places of work and places of entertainment, among other places that the young person find themselves.
“The perpetrators of violence against the children and the youth are not strangers. They are family members, sometimes teachers, caretakers, law enforcement authorities, and even children themselves!
“Some children are particularly vulnerable because of their gender, ethnic origin or disability; some because of their social status. There is no community that is immune (from this societal scourge), as violence is evident in all the communities. I therefore urge you to speak out against these forms of violence, even as I advocate that all violence against youth and children, including corporal punishment; all harmful traditional practices, and any type of sexual violence be prohibited and effectively eliminated through awareness programmes,” he concluded.
Also speaking at the ‘Prevention of Violence against Children’ rally, held at the Esplanade Park and organised by Berbice-based non-governmental organisation Comforting Hearts, was Peace Corps Volunteer Ms. Julia O’Conor, a previous employee of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She told the scores of school children at the rally that her research on child abuse revealed that 15 million girls and 73 million boys in the world are raped every year.
“Statistics reveal that six out of ten children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old have viewed pornography on the Internet,” she disclosed.
“Teachers, you need to be vigilant with these children…We are here today to say ‘Enough!’ to violence against children and youth. Young people are the people that we are supposed to protect, not hurt; they are particularly defenceless and vulnerable,” she declared.
The rally attracted students of the various schools in the New Amsterdam/Canje catchment area, who converged at Main and Philadelphia Streets before marching along the main thoroughfare, where they chanted anti-child abuse slogans.
As they approached Pitt Street, the main commercial area, where several taxis and hire cars had stopped to view the parade, the students shouted, “Taxi man, leave the lil girls alone! It could be your own daughta! We will tell.”
The campaign to stamp out violence against children was imbedded in the international campaign to stop child abuse, which received international attention in 2003 when the first International Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse was observed. It has been observed on November 19th annually ever since. However, after ten years, a non-governmental group comprising an international coalition of actors and partners along with the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) came together to expand the event and launch WWSF’s 19 Days of Activism, a global campaign lasting from November 1st to 19th.