Rights Activist repeats call for reconvening of Sexual Offences Task Force

Sep 15, 2019 News

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By Feona Morrison

She has publically called out government Minister who she said have been abandoning their roles on the Sexual Offence Task Force, an integral component of the Sexual Offences Act 2010. Rights Activist Nicole Cole, who also sits on the Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC), is calling for the reconvening of the Sexual Offences Task Force if the country is serious about eliminating sexual violence, especially the increasing cases involving female children.

According to Section 87 of the Sexual Offences Act, there shall be an inter-agency task force to be known as the National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Violence which shall have the duty to develop and implement a national plan for the prevention of sexual violence. It also says the President shall appoint the members of the Task Force, which shall include the Ministers of Legal Affairs, Public Security, Social Protection, Indigenous People’s Affairs, Health, Local Government, Youth, Sport and Culture, senior public officers with responsibility for law enforcement, health, human and social services and persons from non-governmental organisation.

During an interview with this publication, Cole said that the Sexual Offences Task Force’s last meeting was held sometime in 2016. Based on information, the last report of the Task Force was in December of that same year, and it was stated therein that the Ministers of Public Health, Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Social Protection, Public Security and Public Health were signatories to a protocol to have the Task Force operational

Cole, who is a WGEC representative to the Sexual Offences Task Force, said that she attended that meeting which had a few Ministers, non-governmental organization representatives and other officials in attendance. Three years later, there is yet to be another meeting which is contrary to Section 87 (4) of the Sexual Offences Act which states, “The Task Force should meet at least once every three months.”

This led Cole to repeat her reactions at a forum entitled Interrogating Sexual Violence held in July. She asked, “Why isn’t the Sexual Offences Task Force functioning? Who is responsible? When will it start functioning?’’ She lamented that the Sexual Offences Act turns 10 next years, and the Sexual Offences Task Force plays an important role in ensuring the provisions of the legislation (Sexual Offences Act) are upheld.

She expressed, “I sit on the Sexual Offences Task Force but it remains something that appears to be in still birth. It functions sometimes, you have one meeting and then nothing else happens because you have ministers who have critical roles on that Task Force and they are abdicating their duties.”

According to Cole, the issue of the non-functioning Sexual Offences Task Force is one constantly being raised by not only her, but other activists. She recalled that sometime in 2018 she attended a meeting for the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Policy Units, in which she raised the point with Akeela Doris, who heads the units. Cole recalled, “I specifically lamented to her (Doris) that Ministers were abdicating their roles.”

Among other things, Cole said that one of the objectives of the Task Force is to educate the public about the prevention of sexual violence. However, according to Cole, if one is going to look at this objective, they must also include the Protection of the Children Act “because when we look at sexual offences in Guyana in all the counties, what we do have is the fact that the majority of sexual cases in the courts involve girls.”

“This is how the TELL Scheme remains vital to educating our children. TELL is no longer on the air and I don’t know why. I am advocating for the TELL Scheme to come back on air. If the Task Force was functioning, it would ensure that the TELL Scheme is never off the air. TELL is what made that eight-year-old child walked into the probation office and was able to tell of her own abuse by her father. When the entire community knew and did nothing.”

“Do you know what help and aided that child?” Cole asked, adding, “It was the education and awareness done by the very TELL Scheme that is off air. So this is how we are falling down, the Sexual Offences Task Force has education as a key component. The education of the populace will be about all the various laws in place to protect citizens in a society.”

According to ChildLink Guyana, the aim of the TELL initiative was to improve the lives of children who are at risk of being separated from their families primarily as a result of violence and abuse of all forms. Its focus was to promote the rights of children and their protection within the family, community and school environment.

This initiative ensured that children were sensitised in the area of abuse and its effects; these also included information on how to protect themselves from and report abuse. The action also extended support to the caregivers/parents, by ensuring their capacities were developed in positive parenting to ensure that the quality of life for children is improved.

Furthermore, Cole noted that an impending survey on Women’s Health and Family Life will show that Guyana has been identified as a society with “Accommodation Syndrome.” This translates to a society which shows no interest in the fact that offenders have developed an appetite for children. Known as the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS), it was proposed by Roland C. Summit in 1983 to describe how he believed sexually abused children responded to ongoing sexual abuse.

He noted five stages: secrecy, helplessness, entrapment and accommodation, delayed disclosure, retraction. According to Cole, “The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome is a serious one. It is how children react and adapt to survive the abuse. This is what Guyana is experiencing.”

Although Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack recently announced that there has been an increase in convictions for sexual offences annually, sex-related offences continue to dominate the criminal assizes across the three counties. For instance, of the 301 cases listed for the June session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes, a startling 177 are for sexual offences.

Of these 177 sexual offence cases, 126 are for cases involving children; either sexual activity (no penetration) or rape (penetration). This means that sex-related offences accounted for 59 percent of the cases on the list.

Ali-Hack had also disclosed that the most popular offences her chambers is faced with is rape of a child under 16 years old where there is penetration, sexual activity with a child where there is no penetration, sexual activity with a child family member and this includes both penetration and no penetration, sexual activity with a child by abusing a position of trust and rape of the adult.

While Cole lauded the establishment of Sexual Offences Courts in Demerara and Berbice, which has seen tremendous work being done to dispense justice, she is adamant that the reconvening of the Task Force will ensure that there is the implementation of a much needed Sexual Offenders Registry.

“We cannot be playing a game of hocus pocus. We can’t be playing Russian Roulette…We can’t be playing any form of cricket with sexual offences. We need the registry. I have been continuing to call for a Sexual Offenders Registry. It is important because it is a part of the Sexual Offences Act. Why put things in an Act and do not implement it?” Cole continued by questioning, “Don’t we want to know who are harming our children and have them registered?”

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