By Rehana Ahamad

FOR the period January 2020 to October 2020, a total of 105 teenage pregnancies were recorded locally. Of these, 70 were girls below the age of 16, meaning that they were unable to give consent, and are therefore victims of rape. The other 35 pregnancies were teenagers above the legal age for sexual activity. The aforementioned figures are reflective of reports compiled and presented by the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA).

During a virtual staff conference hosted on Wednesday last, the agency’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Latoya Beckles, related that the majority of teenage pregnancies for 2020 have emerged from hinterland communities.
She specified Region Nine as being the region with the highest numbers of teenage impregnations, with a rate of five per 1000 children. This figure follows Region Seven, which has a rate of 4.5.

Although Regions Nine and Seven have recorded the highest number of teenage pregnancies, it is actually Region One that leads the chart in relation to the sexual abuse of children. The CPA reports show Region One as leading in all forms of abuse committed against children.
The sexual abuse of children in Region One occurs at a rate of 5.3 per 1000 children. This is followed by Region Nine and Seven, respectively. Region Eight was the only region that recorded a teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse rate of zero.

Nonetheless, even though the CPA has been investigating seven cases of incest, none of these have resulted in pregnancies.
For the period January 2020 to October 2020, a total of 2,761 cases of child abuse have engaged the attention of the CPA, and by extension, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. The total number of abused children accounts for 1,492 girls and 1,269 boys, with neglect remaining the leading form of abuse.
The report specified 659 boys being neglected for this year, as against 565 girls. The abandonment of boys is most prevalent among those between the ages of eight and 13, whereas girls were mostly neglected during their infant and toddler years (zero to three years).

This year has seen a 26.5 per cent decline in reported cases of child abuse, but according to the CPA Director, Ann Greene, this could be as a result of under-reporting, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen more children being confined to the home environment.
Previously, teachers in Guyana played a critical role in identifying and reporting instances of child abuse. However, with schools being out for almost an entire year now, the number of reports reaching the CPA has decreased significantly.

What remains a constant is the fact that mothers are the leading perpetrators of abuse committed against children. For the reporting period, 1050 mothers were accused of abusing their children. This is followed by 547 abusive fathers and 155 abusive step-parents, followed by other relatives. The number of cases involving abuse committed on children by strangers, stood at 427. This reaffirms the fact that children are mostly abused by those that they love and hold dearest.