M&CC: Stop protecting abusers

IN the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal rocking Hollywood, the hash tag #metoo was started. Those who made use of it used it to indicate that they too had had some form of sexual abuse or harassment levelled at them.

It wasn’t long before all of social media channels were flooded with #metoo stories. One of the questions that arose in the conversation about it was, “How come we all know someone with a #metoo story, but we don’t know any rapists or harassers?”
For every 10 #metoo stories I know, I know the equivalent of one ‘he did it,’ story. Abusers are not named and they are not held accountable. The reason behind this is because of our automatic instinct to protect abusers, particularly when we know them or they are in positions of authority.
Every family has that one member who is known to rape or molest someone. Every family has that one member who is always sexually inappropriate and makes people feel uncomfortable. My family had two of these persons, one of them is dead, and I don’t know where the other is currently.
The latter’s sexual violence was made public, the first died before his was. Mostly, when we know of the abusers within our circle, we do not want to believe that they are capable, so we create excuses. We do not act against them because we are complicit in protecting perpetrators. As a result, we are complicit in the cloak of silence that ensconces rape and sexual harassment.

A clear-cut example of how we allow sexual violence to thrive and go unchallenged was seen in the recent case with the Mayor and City Council and what appears to be a cover up of sexual violence against a minor by an officer. In analyzing this recent occurrence, one should not forget that the M&CC has a history of inaction when it comes to holding rapists and those guilty of sexual violence accountable. It was only a year ago when child molester Winston Harding became a councillor and had the then Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence coming to his defence.

In August 2017, a young man reported to be 15 years old in certain sections of the media, was taken into custody by a city constable for “loitering.” The young man was placed on the prisoner’s bench at the Regent Street Enquiries Outpost at City Hall. That night, a constable was said to have sexually violated the minor by having him perform anal sex on him. Another city constable, who would allow the violation of the child’s rights to continue without interference, reportedly witnessed his co-worker and the minor together.

The witnessing constable would report what he saw the next day to M&CC Town Clerk, Royston King. King was reported to have interviewed the alleged victim, but he failed to submit a report to the Legal Affairs and Security Committee; something he was required to do.
Despite the town clerk and the City Council being aware of what had occurred, it was only close to two months later that the offending constable would be dismissed for “gross misconduct.” The police also subsequently arrested him. The constable, who had witnessed what had happened, was also dismissed for his failure “to protect a juvenile.” Good.

It was only after the story was broken by Kaieteur News did City Hall launch an investigation. The matter had remained stalled for a while, given non-compliance of the guardian to sign a statement, stated Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green. Chase-Green reportedly stated that she did not know about what had happened and when she found out, it was she who pushed for dismissal of the officers.
However, it was not just King who was aware of what had happened and kept it under the wraps. Sherod Duncan, who is the chairperson of the council’s Legal Affairs and Securities Committee, was one of the persons who were aware of the alleged sexual violence and did not report it to the Childcare and Protection Agency or the police. He would later call his and the council’s failure to report it, a “misjudgment.”
In a Facebook post, Duncan criticised the firing of the officer who witnessed the sexual assault saying, “The town clerk interviewed the alledged [sic] victim in his office and submitted no report to the committee on what transpired should he be sent home as well?” Yes, Sherod, yes. The town clerk should be sent home. You should be sent home. Everyone complicit in this cover-up should be sent home or should tender your resignations immediately.

The Child Protection Law states in Section 7 (1) “Where a person has direct information that a child is or may be in need of protective intervention, the person shall immediately report the matter to the CPA director, a probation officer appointed by the Public Service Commission or a police officer.”
The act stipulates that failure to inform the relevant authorities what you see and what you know can result in prosecution in which the penalty is a $50,000 fine.
The City Council and its members should not have reported the sexual assault of a minor just because they were required to do it, ethical guidelines should stipulate that they root out perpetrators of violence from within their midst. However, the council did not follow ethical nor legal guidelines. They have made it abundantly clear just how little they are interested in ensuring minors are protected and sexual assault perpetrators and protectors are held accountable.

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