–seeking gov’t’s help in stemming prostitution
THE newly-formed Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) is seeking increased collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in an effort to address issues surrounding young women prostituting themselves in certain remote parts of Guyana. “My take is to work with the government through Minister Robert Persaud (Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment) and Minister Jennifer Webster (Human Services Minister) so as to bring closure to the exploitation that exists,” President of GWMO, Simona Broomes, said two Fridays ago during an outreach organised by the GWMO at Itaballi Landing in Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), where a number of residents and women miners gathered at the Community Centre to share the concerns they have in the mining industry.
At that meeting, Broomes and a number of women miners from Bartica heard how many of the young women there feel they have no alternative but to ‘sell their bodies’ to earn a living.
It was one of the most heart-rending situations spoken about by several of the women who turned up at the meeting, which was intended to sensitise the women in that area about the newly formed GWMO while simultaneously providing them an opportunity to register as new members.
Daring allegations were made by one 67-year-old woman who said that she often sees girls as young as 12, 15, and 16 years old drinking, dancing and smoking in the nights. She even alleged in front of the cameras of the National Communications Network (NCN) that police officers who are supposed to be protecting the young women are themselves involved sexually with them.
Broomes responded that the situation just described is one of the saddest things she has had to deal with. Hence, she said, the organisation’s aim is to help provide decent jobs with decent wages for the young women. A number of them have qualifications after writing the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) but remain without jobs.
“What we’re doing is lobbying for finance to assist the poor women in the industry. We don’t want to see them only selling beers in a shop and being sex workers. We know there is not much for the young women to do, so resulting in us having to deal with a lot of teenage pregnancy. This organisation is seeking to make an impact on the lives of young women for the future, and to motivate them to take up different mining opportunities.”
Following the meeting, Broomes and some of her colleagues paid a visit to a 14-year-old girl that was spoken of at the meeting, and found her and several other young women in a house.
The girl told Broomes that her mother died when she was just 10 years old and that it is her “gentleman” who is currently taking care of her. “From a tender age, she is very loose, and she told us that her gentleman is caring for her because that’s the only means of her surviving. It was so sad to see her in a position where she feels that she has to give her body to someone so that she will get some food. She needs a home, some sort of structuring. She needs to learn not to abuse herself and view herself as just a sex tool out there.”
It is for these reasons that GWMO is reaching out to the Human Services Ministry, which has already signalled its intention to work along with the organisation. According to Broomes, following the launch of GWMO last January, Minister Webster called the organisation as a follow-up.
“We will work with them (the ministry) and tell them about these new opportunities. Maybe they can also assist us in some of the training we are talking about to create decent jobs,” Broomes said.
Since its launch, the GWMO has made significant achievements, even representing Guyana at different international conferences on women in mining. The organisation is calling on government to give it some form of attention, so that women can work comfortably and their exploitation could be lessened in the mining industry.
“So we want to appeal to government. It is in the hands of Minister Robert Persaud. He can make a difference. I have a lot of confidence in him. We met with him and he had good signals for us,” Broomes told this newspaper.
GWMO’s objectives include improving the working conditions of women in the mining sector by reducing the incidents of physical abuse and exploitation of women; providing technical, vocational, and other relevant forms of training for women to prepare them for careers in the mining industry, in particular the gold and diamond mining sector, given their diverse locations and the rapid economic upturn in the sector.
The organisation also intends to promote the rights of indigenous and local communities with respect to benefit sharing and full health services, and to reduce and mitigate the environmental footprint of the industry in communities where it obtains, especially with respect to water and sanitation.
The body seeks to advocate for a full review of the system by which lands and concessions are granted in Guyana, to ensure that the system gives full opportunities of ownership to women as a right of citizenship.
It also seeks to assist in development of entrepreneurial skills of dredge owners, operators, and other workers in the mining communities.