NGOs anti-sexual assault against children campaign continues

May 12, 2009 News

The members of two local non-governmental organisations are not amused that matters relating to sexual assault meted out to children are not being addressed speedily in the courts and they are making their voices heard.

One of the cases that Kaieteur News has heard of is a matter involving one child being sexually assaulted at age six. At age 17 her matter is still playing out in the local courts.

This Thursday, Red Thread and Help and Shelter’s weekly campaign to promote the need for the Sexual Offences Bill to be speedily passed as law in Guyana continues with a common chant and commitment that “our children need justice now.”

Aimed at further pressing for sexual offences legislation to be implemented with urgency and for appropriate services to be provided for child victims of sexual assault at police stations and courts, the campaign which started last Thursday continues this Thursday on Vlissengen Road outside the Office of the President.

Joy Marcus, one of the organisers, said that campaign is open to public participation and entails the group staging a peaceful picketing exercise with placards and banners.

Marcus noted that ongoing tabulation of statistics show that there is an increase of sexual assaults being meted out to children and as such the groups are making their voices heard.

She added, “One of the problems is that we’ve been going to court with some children and sometimes the attitudes meted out to the children are disgusting and come across as if the victim is responsible for the crime perpetrated against them.”

She said too, that under current legislation, the children are forced to endure trauma for prolonged periods as the judicial system causes the matter to be dragged out.

(Mondale Smith)