Dear Editor,
I AM appalled and deeply hurt by news reports about the vicious rape of a female security guard while she was on duty in Linden trying to make ends meet.
This crime is most disturbing to me because the victim works in the security industry of which I am part, and also because she is a mature lady, old enough to be her attacker’s mother.

This rape exposes two shameful social issues that are exploding in our society like dynamite. The first is the increasing risks faced by women who work as security guards. The other is the spate of violent crimes against women and girls of all ages.
No matter what job you do, there will be occupational risks. If you work in an office or as a minibus driver or conductor on the road, or in a field, factory, mine, or hospital, you simply cannot help being exposed to certain risks while on the job.
Some jobs have a much higher risk than others, like being an airline pilot, a police officer, a military officer, a bodyguard or a security officer. Jobs like these are called “high-risk employment” and the risks associated with them have to be carefully managed or else there will be a backlash.

That is why I am particularly worried about the security industry. I am hearing about too many cases of female security workers being murdered, raped and assaulted. In many cases these women do not get justice and their attackers go unpunished. The sad thing is that these attacks are happening at a time when there are more women in the security industry than ever before. Since many of these women have no other source of income to take care of themselves and their families, the security industry is a mainstay of many Guyanese families.

Without the security industry, many women and their families will suffer and more people will be clamoring for financial assistance from the Government. Therefore, any increase in the occupational risks of female security guards will have far-reaching consequences to the nation as a whole.

I remember a Minister of Labour once advocated the removal of female security guards from night duty. But is that really the solution? Isn’t security work, whether it involves males or females, whether it is done day or night, a risky business?
There have even been cases where male guards were attacked and raped by bandits and thieves. In my company and others, there have been situations where security guards were attacked and murdered.

There was one case in New Amsterdam where one of our personnel was attacked because the bandits thought he had in his possession a lot of money from overseas-based relatives. The point is that all guards are at risk, but female guards are perhaps the most vulnerable.
The attacks on female security guards put the spotlight on the plight of all women in Guyana. Women are truly God’s special creatures, but local menfolk often treat them like dirt. Men sometimes only use them, impregnate them and then abandon them in their time of need.

They are left alone to care for their child or, in some cases, several children. What happens to children with no father figure to look up to, or no positive role model? Sometimes, all they see is a man coming to visit their mom for his pleasure and nothing else.
This is a serious problem in this country. Single parents have produced some amazing, brilliant, outstanding children with whom they are unable to spend sufficient time as they have to work eight hours or more shifts. Neglected children often turn to criminality and take out their frustration on society.
Maybe this is one underlying factor behind the horrific cruelty against women. Recently, in Berbice, an elderly woman in pampers was raped and the police did not even believe her. Old women in Wakenaam, Essequibo and even Georgetown were raped and murdered in their homes by young men.

Of course, this wickedness occurs worldwide. We have seen the Hollywood case where Mr. Weinstein was allegedly raping his actresses and others involved in the production of his movies. We have even seen presidents of the United States involved. But it worries us more when it happens in our own backyard.

In the police force, we heard of boys being raped while being trained at TSU. We have also heard of a young boy being molested while being held at the City Constabulary. Boys, women and girls are being raped in the police stations when they go to report matters or are being held under suspicion.

So where do we go, what do we do? I know people are going to hype up the attack of security guards. The provision of security is an important function and particularly helpful to the police force. Where would the police be without security guards? Could you imagine how much harder it would have been for them?
So it is an occupational hazard that is unacceptable. When such people are caught they ought to be sentenced to life imprisonment or two or three lifetimes. There must be no way out again.

I believe in jail time with hard labour for such people, as well as those who are involved in child molestation and rape. They must be made to work, breaking bricks at a quarry under heavy guard.

To hear that someone’s wife or mother has been raped is painful and hurtful to me as an operator of a security company. I cannot fathom the terror in that woman’s head and the fact that her body and her soul were defiled by an atrocious male who she probably knew and who was watching her.

In the security industry in Guyana and in other industries, it seems to me that males do not want to work much. I see that males are more tempted to do wrong and tend to get involved in criminality more easily than women. That is why women make excellent security guards.

There are some good men, especially the more mature ones. In my experience, young male security guards, often former soldiers or police officers or young muscular males that security companies seem to prefer to hire, are the ones who are more likely to steal or attack a client or molest a client’s wife.

Female security guards, on the other hand, have proven themselves to be more professional, dynamic and enthusiastic. They are more committed to their jobs because they need cash to care for their families and most of them are single parents.
To me, female security personnel are a most important component in security in this country because they are usually more trustworthy and reliable than men and would not risk jail time because they have commitments to their children. It hurts my heart that this has happened to a female security guard; but like I said, it happens everywhere. I remember a case at the Ministry of Education years ago under a previous administration when a Permanent Secretary was replaced for trying to molest or for molesting a female at the ministry. I know of other cases in which women were targeted for sexual molestation by ministers of government.

It is good that the security company for which this rape victim works has given her time off to recuperate, but there are questions to be asked about their operations. Do they issue whistles or batons to their guards? What did this female guard have to protect herself with and raise an alarm?

As the head of a security company, I know that a whistle has great psychological impact in crime fighting. Also, if this guard had a baton in her hand, she could have hit her attacker and protected herself. Of course, the police might have turned around and charged her.
Female security guards and male guards need to build a rapport with the neighbours around, keep an eye out for the neighbours. They have to think outside the box. For example, if there is no alarm system, no whistle, no baton, no firearm, they can keep a tin can to hit with a stick; hit to raise an alarm.

As a society, we need to find innovative ways to deal with shameful social issues of the risks female security guards face and the cruelty to women and girls in our society.

Regards
Roshan Khan Snr.