Sloth in prosecution of rape trials...Public advocacy needed to ensure justice for child victims

Sloth in prosecution of rape trials…Public advocacy needed to ensure justice for child victims — CCPA officials

Jul 24, 2016 News

With a number of rape cases involving child victims still to be presented for trial, officials of the Childcare and Protection Agency, (CCPA) see the need for greater advocacy by members of public towards ensuring that justice is served.
Last April, figures from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) showed that of the 18 sexual offences cases that came up in the January session of the Demerara Assizes, no more than two ended in convictions.
Additionally, of the cases listed, the DPP was forced to withdraw (nolle prosequi) five of them because the complainants in written statements indicated that they no longer wished to proceed with their matters.
In many instances the victims were under the age of consent. Commenting on the statistics, staff of CPA said that while the agency has its share of responsibility towards ensuring the rights of children are protected, human rights advocates and members of civil society have their part to play too.
“The CPA provides counseling and other support services to victims of child abuse but in many instances court cases are dragged out. By the time they reach the courts the victims are already adults or almost adults. And in most cases, by then these victims do not want to go to court and mentally relive the horrific ordeals,” the CPA officer stressed.
The childcare specialist spoke of the difficulty families of children who have been molested have waiting on the cases to be heard.
“It is quite frustrating that these children and their parents waiting for the cases to get to trial. They could never really move on with their lives.”
However, the CPA official held out that “People are the real champions of change.”
“Therefore, instead of just critiquing the system and agencies like the CPA it would be helpful if members of public, human rights activists Non Governmental Organisations, (NGO) use their influence to advocate for the adequate handling of such matters that they will be heard within a reasonable time frame,” the official added.
A recent report by the US Department of State highlighted high incidences of unreported cases of rape, sexual assault and the court backlog on tackling cases of sexual violence in Guyana.
In a detailed document, the US government outlined that a large number of cases of rape and other forms of sexual assaults are unreported to authorities, most likely due to fear of stigma, a lack of confidence in authorities, retribution, or further violence.
The report also noted that the law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape; successful prosecution of cases of rape was infrequent.
“Based on media reports and commentary from Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), a high incidence of rape and sexual assault was not reflected in official statistics.”
According to the document, the authorities received 233 reports of rape last year but only 36 persons were charged.
For instance, the law does not cover harassment in schools. Acts of sexual harassment involving physical assault are prosecuted under relevant criminal statutes.
“A judge has discretion to issue a sentence of any length in a rape conviction, depending upon the circumstances and severity of the act committed. The norm appeared to be a sentence of five to 10 years’ imprisonment.”.
“Charges of sexual harassment often were settled out of court,” the US reported. The Department outlined monetary penalties and award of damages to victims, but the law’s scope is confined to the workplace, “the report added.

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Sloth in prosecution of rape trials…Public advocacy needed to ensure justice for child victims — CCPA officials

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