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Nine years after passage of law… Support system for Sexual Offences Act still lacking
Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act is among the most impressive in the Caribbean, yet there has not been a great deal of work towards the implementation of key mechanisms provided for, to support the law. This shortcoming was recently highlighted by Attorney-at-law and Former Human Services Minister, Priya Manickchand.
Attorney-at-law, Priya Manickchand
During an interview with Kaieteur Radio, Manickchand emphasised the reluctance by the current administration to put systems in place. She said that government’s lack of action has largely hampered the legal enforcement in the fight against sexual violence.
The former Minister was specifically questioned about the implementation of the Sexual Offences Act which was brought on stream in 2010. She told listeners that the government undoubtedly has a key role to play, in this regard.
Manickchand pointed to the lack of execution of mechanisms like the sexual assault referral centres which are provided for in the Act. She noted that not having this key component has far-reaching effects on the effectiveness of the law.
Manickchand believes that it is among the more glaring missteps by the government.
“So we don’t have a legislative problem, we have an enforcement problem. The government has to pass the laws, but they also have to follow-up and put the systems in place to complement those laws,” the former Minister asserted.
While she admits that government alone cannot combat the situation, Manickchand is resolute that it must take the lead role.
“I know that no government by itself can fix the issue, they need support from civil society–churches, faith-based people, NGOs and the entire country. However, the fight against sexual violence has to be led by the government and that is not happening. For example, sexual assault referral centres are provided for in the legislation, but never happened.”
According to Manickchand, “the sexual assault referral centres are basically a coping mechanism which will cater to the needs of the victims”.
“We know that sexual assault victims, whether they are children or adults, go through tremendous physical and mental trauma. What a referral centre does is help to eliminate the process of the victims having to repeat their stories a hundred times.
“The government is responsible for setting the centres preferably at hospitals in the various regions, where all the necessary personnel like police, social worker and the medical staff are present under one roof, so the victim tells his/her story once before it is taken to court,” the lawyer explained.
Added to that, Manickchand spoke of the need for a sustained awareness campaign on sexual violence.
“Sexual abuse of girls and boys is extremely widespread in our country; you see glimpses of it in the statistics of the yearly report released by the Child Care and Protection Agency. It is widespread in the hinterland and coastland, and that’s primarily because we shy away from talking about it. So there is a need for the continuous advocacy and awareness to stamp out the incidence of sex crimes.
“We need to talk about it more and share information. Of course, you have to pass the laws, but you must put the systems in place to implement those laws… then you have to return to society an ongoing never-ending continuous awareness campaign so that people will know what to look for, how to respond, and where to go to get support if sexual crimes occur,” she added.
The attorney was keen to point out that the Judiciary has been very progressive, as it relates to implementation of the Sexual Offences Act.
“The Court has actually done well in terms of setting up vital mechanisms to address sexual offences. We have two women heading the Courts in the persons of the Chief Justice Madame Justice Roxane George and Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, the Chancellor, both of whom were instrumental in the setting up of the Sexual Offences Court, which has aided tremendously in helping persons, especially children, complete the process of trial, since they no longer have to face their perpetrators, there are screens protecting them from having any visual contact,” Manickchand said.
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