…UNICEF says Essequibo branch before year-end

THE Judiciary in partnership with UNICEF Guyana will, today, open the Sexual Offences Court in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Today’s launch will follow the opening of the Sexual Offences Court in Georgetown back in November 2017 and the commitment to decentralise specialised court services.
The courts will follow the model guidelines to ensure that its operation is in line with the Sexual Offences Act and meets best practice.

According to a release from UNICEF, the work of the court will be complemented by the support services offered by the Ministry of Social Protection and other partners. This includes the one-stop centres or Child Advocacy Centres for the reporting of abuse.
Additionally, a Sexual Offences Court is expected to be completed in Essequibo before December 2019, with the support of the British High Commission and UNICEF Guyana.
Meanwhile, months after the Sexual Offences Court was opened in Georgetown, over 14 cases have been heard by the court, with over 10 persons being found guilty.

Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, during a recent forum, noted that the court has been meeting expectations, while allowing victims the opportunity to testify in a comfortable environment. She said efforts will be continued to implement the sexual offences guidelines. Of the 14 matters that have been completed, seven dealt with sexual activity with a child or family member, and four with the rape of a child under the age of 16. All but one of the virtual complainants, she said, were female, and aged between three and 28 at the time of commission of the offence.

Ten of the victims, she said, were 10 years old or younger at the time of the commission of the offence, while the ‘perps’ were over 30. Few were older than 40, Justice Ramlall said.
“All of the VCs utilised the audio-visual link, except for two, and those two were adults,” she explained. “One of the complainants testified via Skype from Barbados; 12 of the 14 virtual complainants had their support persons present and these were persons from Blossom Inc, the Child Care and Protection Agency and relatives.”

The matters, she said, originated from Ituni, North West District, Linden and Mahaica, with trials ranging from two to eight days. In terms of verdicts, she said nine came in guilty, and four not guilty. One had a hung jury. “The sentences imposed ranged from nine years to life imprisonment. The nine-year imprisonment was for sexual activity with a child and that child was not a family member and there was no penetration involved,” the judge reported during her statistical overview of the operation of the Sexual Offences Court.
Guyana Chronicle reported back in March that over 400 cases of sexual abuse against children had been reported-a figure which Resident UNICEF Representative, Sylvie Fouet says is alarming. Fouet was at the time speaking at the launch of the Forensic Psychology and Sexual Offences Special Training Series which was coordinated by the Supreme Court, University of Guyana and UNICEF. Fouet pointed out that last year, the number of cases were over 1000. The UNICEF representative signaled the need for more to be done in order to address the scourge which has been plaguing society for years. She believes that building capacity will help Guyana to find solutions, which will result in the reduction of those numbers and even the prevention of such cases.

Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards echoed similar sentiments, noting that the training is important, since insensitive treatment of victims can result in secondary trauma. “The complexities of such cases required specialised training on the part of all involved…Persons engaged in working in this field also need debriefing exercises, because they, too, can suffer from secondary trauma,” Justice Cummings-Edwards said.

In light of that, she stressed the need for an intensive approach to training persons. This, she believes, will help them to respond better to such cases.