THE issue of sex is still somewhat of a taboo subject in Guyana and rarely one would find parents discussing the “birds and the bees” with their children. As such, children and adolescent teenagers are left to figure out and explore on their own what sex is.
It is not surprising therefore why we have numerous cases of unreported sexual abuse; most incidents occur in the family, so the abuse is either buried deep or parents/guardians refuse to believe the victim. Many parents do not want their child labelled as a survivor of sexual abuse and make the decision to deal with it privately, rather than involve law enforcement. When that decision is made, most often the abuser is emboldened to repeat the behaviour while he or she unfortunately remains anonymous.
In this regard, the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) has a huge challenge in reaching out to victims, given the fact that its Director, Ann Greene, had admitted that there aren’t enough officers in each region.
We’ve all heard and read the horror stories of children being raped or touched inappropriately either by their fathers, close relatives or a family friend and most of these victims are girls, but a recent report in the media quoted the CPA Director as saying that sexual molestation of young boys is on the increase. According to the report, between January and February this year, the Ministry of Social Protection had received 17 reports of boys being sexually abused.
In 2016, the ministry received a total of 118 reported cases of boys being molested and according to the statistics, the majority of boys suffering from abuse in all of its forms, are between the ages of eight and 13. According to the January and February figures, a total of 130 boys who fell within this age range, were abused in some way or the other. The statistics further revealed that 85 of these boys were abused during the tender age of three years old. The director had indicated that these figures represent a fraction of the trauma being faced by Guyana’s children.
As such, we believe that the task of addressing sexual abuse in a holistic manner should not rest solely on the shoulders of the CPA; it requires the collaborative effort of all stakeholders, including the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the religious community. An aggressive sensitisation campaign on sexual abuse is needed if the issue is to be tackled effectively; visits to various schools, especially in the hinterland areas, are a must.
It should not be ignored that parents play an important role in this regard and evidence shows that they are often the first to identify signs that something is seriously wrong with their child, but with the evolution of technology, mobile phones, social media and apps have become a major connection between children and abusers.
The role of parents in safeguarding is much harder, because of the difficulties of controlling these media, which are used by sexual abusers to coerce, manipulate, threaten, control, flatter and entice children. As such, we believe that as a society, we should help parents and guardians understand their responsibility to teach their children how to protect themselves from predators. Parents need to recognise that the responsibility to impart this critical information belongs only to them and no one else. Other appropriate adults can reinforce, remind, and be supportive of the parental process, but the responsibility rests with the parents.