NGO focuses on preventing child sexual abuse

Jul 06, 2017 News

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Few people may realize the extent to which child sexual abuse, including child rape, incest and sexual assault, exist in our Guyana. Child rape and incest transcend race, class, ethnicity and geography. It occurs on a daily basis and not too few of us dare to speak out especially when it involves family members and close loved ones.
In 2014, Blossom Incorporated, a locally registered NGO dared to organise to address this scourge in our society with the help of Government through the Ministry of Social Protection – Childcare Protection Agency. But the bugbear remains funding, as there is never enough to go around.
The hope is that a greater number of public and private sector agencies will come on board in the coming months to forge a multi-sectoral approach to this issue as the little that’s available is dwindling especially as organisations move to tackle interior and remote locations.
Blossom Incorporated is the only known NGO dealing with child sexual abuse cases in Region Two through a Child Advocacy Centre. The Region is one of the most affected in the Country. It has formed an extremely effective working relationship with the Police in G Division – Sexual Offences Unit, the Childcare & Protection Agency, Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and the Regional Democratic Council.
“Together we collaborate to successfully work in the outlying areas such as Bethany, Tapakuma, Capoey, Mainstay, Kabakaburi, Wakapoa, Akawini, Mashabo, Karawap and others.
The work in these communities came about after the Managing Director of Blossom Inc., Ms Ayo Dalgety-Dea, and Child Counsellor, Bibi Barakat, participated in the quarterly Toshaos meeting for Region Two where a need for collaboration was expressed to address this ever-growing issue of child sexual abuse in their communities.
They asked the organisation to visit their communities since they needed guidance, support and training in tackling the issue of child sexual abuse. Blossom Inc. has held sensitisation sessions on child sexual abuse in an attempt to make the community aware of and responsive to legislation relevant to children. These are the Sexual Offences Act, Marriage Act, Sexual Reproductive Act, Disability Act, Protection of Children Act etc.
Following these sensitisation sessions, Child Abuse Prevention Watch Groups are being initiated which will see community members come together and commit themselves to preventing child sexual abuse and promoting child wellbeing.
The organization has noted that without community participation, primary prevention programmes cannot be successful. Therefore, community members are best placed to know the community strengths and aspirations, vulnerabilities and needs. The organization also sees active community involvement as essential in developing genuine long-term capacity and sustainability.
In fact, a common barrier to effective child abuse prevention strategies is insufficient community involvement, responsibility and ownership.
Life skills will be offered to community members in the form of Parenting Workshops, which will be delivered, using an evidence-informed programme, which empowers parents to meet their children’s core emotional needs. It offers a step-by-step guide for parents to learn how to raise emotionally healthy children and hence build emotionally healthy communities. This will mitigate the risk factors that increase children’s vulnerabilities.
Last month, Blossom Incorporated’s Programme Manager, Ms Shaundell Shipley, was part of a multidisciplinary team, which conducted child abuse prevention outreaches in Region Nine. This included engagement with community members in two of the five districts and other stakeholders in the region.
As part of the response, the team met with representatives from the Regional Democratic Council, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education and the Guyana Police Force.
The National Protocol for Child Advocacy Centres Multi-Disciplinary Team was shared with the Regional Health Officer and the Officer in Charge at the Lethem Police Station.
Blossom Inc. staff also oriented the officers of the Sexual Offence Unit on the use of the protocol. Specialised sexual abuse medical examination, the single interview approach that is child friendly and developmentally appropriate and the responsible reporting of child sexual abuse cases were discussed at length.
A notable observation in the region is while there are systems in place for the reporting of child sexual abuse cases, these are not being followed. However, this could be as a result of there being no child protection officer at present in the region or lack of follow-up by reporting professionals in the region.
During the community engagement leaders were identified for the establishment of a Child Abuse Prevention Watch Group in South and North Rupununi.

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