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Exactly how many of the public’s recommendations are in the Sexual Offences Bill 2009?

Apr 30, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to the article “New Sexual Offences Bill Can be Conduit for Justice Overhaul” (SN 28/04/10) and would appreciate the opportunity to rebut! Two issues mentioned in the article above invite immediate comment:
1. Para 7: “…encourage a higher rate of conviction…”
2. Para 9: “… The Act also provides for training of ancillary staff such as probation and welfare personnel…”
At points 4, 5 and 6 in the online article “An Initial Assessment of the Stamp It Out Consultation”  (http://www.scribd.com/doc/30423005/An-Initial-Assessment-of-the-Stamp-It-Out-Consultation ) we brought the Minister’s attention to the fallacy of “just going after convictions” and not adopting a holistic approach to solving “man-issues” or “issues affecting men” in the current socio-economic context. The Minister anticipated no new prisons to go with an increase of convictions by 60%, nor did she, or her ministry anticipate hiring more psychiatrists (distinct from low-level “probation and welfare personnel”).
We cannot just lock up a certain percentage of our male population and expect that the underlying causes of some of their problems will not just go away…nor can we madly dash towards a society that will become extremely litigious.
An overly punitive environment will surely have its own negative societal consequences if there are no counterbalancing institutions to mentor/tutor persons at the relationship-skills, anger-management, parenting and responsibility levels. Did the Minister or her ministry consider the establishment of a “Men’s Affairs Bureau” however conceptualized.
Three final questions:
Where are the new “Ken Danns” of the sociological profession in Guyana? Or is all research now being conducted from an “advocacy” perspective?
How many, exactly, of the public’s submissions and recommendations to the Ministry of Human Services were actually incorporated into the final Bill?
Roger Williams

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