First Lady of Guyana, Mrs. Sandra Granger has condemned the practice of child prostitution and trafficking in persons in Guyana. In an interview touching on social issues, with the Sunday Chronicle, Mrs. poignantly declared, “I strongly object to the practice where persons try to use children as prostitutes – male or female. I feel very strongly about protection of children and ensuring that they have, what I would like to believe is a quality childhood, where they could really enjoy themselves, explore and determine what they want to be in life.” .

She said, even though children may make a few mistakes, they ought to be left to enjoy their childhood. “They should be free to run about with friends; play cricket. Let little children be little children and enjoy themselves.” She observed that it’s so much fun to see a child just being a child.
These are two of her planned areas of focus as she prepares to commence her duties as First Lady of Guyana.
The First Lady told of some cases where parents send the girls to work as prostitutes for purely economic reasons, adding, “It is something we really have to look at, but my position is – if the child is under 16, it is rape, and rape is rape, so the perpetrators should be pursued with the full force of the law.”
Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act 2010 was brought into force exactly five years ago, by the order of the Minister on May 25, 2010 after being assented to by the President on May 24, 2010.
The Sexual Offences Law came into effect in Guyana to pave the way for disadvantaged girls and boys and to provide a more robust fight against sexual violence in the country, often disproportionately
experienced by children and women as victims. Albeit, it is still not being fully implemented.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Granger is adamant about trafficking in persons and has an interest in ‘breaking the neck of it.’

Trafficking in persons
She acknowledged the work of Ms. Simona Broomes and the Women Miners’Association, who have opened up the extent of ‘trafficking in persons’ in Guyana, and the way it impacts particularly young girls. “It’s ridiculous that there are women involved in this traffic – women who are madams in the trade and how they deal with adolescence girls who should be in their care,” Mrs. Granger lamented.
She said that while it is predominantly children from the hinterland who are victims of this horrendous trade, there are also some girls from the coast. “Girls who are promised – maybe a job in a shop or managing a business,” we are told. “ But when they get in there , they became virtual slave to whoever is the businessman or businesswoman, because, by the time they get in there, if they want to break out, they are told, ‘ Well you owe me so much for board; you owe me so much for so many bottles of water that you drank . You owe so much for food.” It is really entrapment in a vicious cycle. It’s like modern day slavery, she surmise.

Commodities to be used?
And commenting on psychological abuse the First lady said that the entrapped girls are treated (predominantly by male clients), as though they are just commodities to be used. “ I think that’s the worst part of it. It means that the child loses their humanity in the sight of others.’’
She also heard of experiences where a ‘madam’ had 13-year-old girls and they were only allowed underwear which was typically their work wear.
“What I am saying is that they (the young girls) didn’t have a choice. They were just picked up by somebody who promised them food and a better life than where they are in the backdam, servicing some people,” the First Lady related.
She told of some cases where parents send the girls to work as prostitutes for purely economic reasons, adding, “So it’s simple in a sense and complex as well. So it’s something we really have to look at, but my position is – if the child is under 16, it is rape, and rape is rape, so they should be pursued with the full force of the law,” the First Lady affirmed.
About what help is there for these ‘trafficked’ girls once discovered by persons genuinely wishing to have them freed, Mrs. Granger explained. “They take them away and then take them to a ‘safe house’ where the girls can live and learn social skills learn a craft and become accustomed to being normal young women again.
The anguish evident as she spoke, Mrs. Granger stated: “But some of those girls have some horrific personal stories. A few of them might have been raped by a male relative and can’t go back home.”
And attempting to draw the nexus between how does the Child Protection Services work with the women miners to ensure that these girls are safe and protected as they try to rebuild their lives, she submitted that one does not get over trauma like that, but if people are well trained to counsel and guide these young ladies, maybe they can seek some normalcy in their lives.”