Sexual violence awareness campaign to be translated in Indigenous language

Jul 20, 2018 News

Indigenous Peoples are among the most susceptible groups to a number of socio-economic issues including sexual and other types of violence according to a study.
Studies conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed an increase in the number of cases in teenage pregnancy in Guyana’s hinterland.
According to the report, it was estimated that one in every four births occurred to a mother who is younger than 16 years old.
When looked at from a wider scale, the collected data show that 21 percent of adolescent girls from Indigenous communities have already begun child bearing, a number which is six percent higher than the national average.
The UNICEF study revealed that among the contributors to the problem is the fact that, Indigenous Peoples are less likely to access good quality education, healthcare services and information and a number other social issues than persons living on the coastland.
The study also revealed that the barriers to the quality of education delivery and sensitization in the hinterland residents are said to be influenced by among other things, a lack access to computers and internet and language barriers.
To this end, the Childcare and Protection Agency, (CPA) is moving to spread awareness about sexual and other types of abuse meted out to children in the Amerindian communities.
In addition, for the first time, the information will be translated and disseminated in the four main Indigenous dialects. Kaieteur News understands that the agency has been working to sensitize residents in the outlying areas of Guyana.
The CPA has however taken note that there are barriers to effectively sensitizing the Indigenous people due to cultural differences.
“What we know is that a lot of Indigenous people have their own culture and language. This can hamper the effectiveness of any awareness campaign in their communities.
“What is accepted as a norm in Indigenous communities may very well be a violation of the Child Protection Act. So, the Agency has its work cut out in terms of communicating with them and ensuring the message gets out.
“We have to help them to understand that what would be normal to them for instance, a father and daughter having sexual relations and a girl being pregnant at as young as 12 years old is in fact unlawful and not acceptable.
“That is why, it’s important that the information on sexual abuse shared to the Indigenous people in their languages,” officials of the agency explained.
As such, the agency will be working with radio stations particularly those reaching the hinterland regions to spread the word about the issues of child molestation, sexual and other types of abuse.
The CPA will collaborate with commentators, deejays and other persons familiar with the language to ensure that the information reaches the people in a language they understand.
In a recent report, UNICEF deduced that the most liable cause for the high birth rates among young girls is due to the absence of women empowerment in many Amerindian communities.
The study noted that it is very difficult for women in those areas to access contraceptives since they do not have the authority to make those decisions.
Additionally, the high levels of violence in the home are not reported, since it is seen as a normal occurrence that has been happening for generations.

In the Moruca sub-district, out of the 350 births that were recorded in 2016, approximately 90 were born to adolescent mothers.
Meanwhile, incest in the household is an act that has been prevalent for some time now. It spans between not only father-daughter abuses, but also among siblings. It was indicated that these cases are never reported.
In fact, the police within the communities have heard words on the street about the frequency of incest in communities but it would seem as though that is habitual among relatives.
Final deductions conclude that the Indigenous people of Guyana “live in deep vulnerability, with historical changes that are rooted in the social, economic, administrative and political structures of the country”.

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