Guyana has no laws to protect women against stalkers – Senior Police source

Oct 25, 2020 News

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Kaieteur News – (The main subject of this article has requested that her last name not be published.)

Christine, 24, is being forced to live in fear since there are no laws in Guyana to protect her against a possible attack from an alleged stalker.
The woman’s troubles with the stalker, whom she described as a tall Portuguese man in his early 40s, began one month after she moved to a location on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), along with her five-year-old son.
After days of constant “harassment” and “suspicious actions” by the individual, Christine, lodged a report with police. However, ranks told her that there is nothing they can do to help. Surprised, Christine asked why and was told by the lawmen that the man has not made any attempts to threaten or attack her as yet.
One of them, she said, even advised her to arm herself with a knife if the man continues his stalking and tries to attack her. Venting her frustration on Facebook, she posted “Come on, you’re gonna wait for him to attack me and then do something? What if next time I don’t even make it to get a report to you? How does that work?”
Christine told Kaieteur News that it all began with a “Good morning”. One day, she said, while taking her son to a babysitter, the man approached and started a conversation.
“He started talking to me, and told me that I remind him of a relative and how pretty I am, calling me a princess, and how much he wants to do for me. I would always say I’m not interested and that I’m married and that my husband wouldn’t appreciate you,” she recalled.
Despite rejecting him, the man persisted.

“He started following me, all the time and I would continuously ask him not to but he continued. He would follow me to the babysitter’s house, wait for me and then follow me again,” the young woman detailed.
This routine, she said, was repeated for three days by the man. Growing tired of him Christine said that she complained to her boyfriend who accompanied her the following day and warned the man to “back off”. Nevertheless, the stern warning did not deter the man. The next day she said while on her way to the babysitter, the man continued his “creepy ways”.
Christine claimed that she was dropped off by a bus at a bus-stop and there was the man waiting for her.
“I panicked, got out of the bus and made my way through the Mon Repos Market to escape him but he started to pace behind me. I was almost running pulling my son along trying to get to the babysitter,” she recounted.
Christine said after she arrived, she spent a while waiting for the man to go away but instead he stood a short distance away waiting for her to leave. Scared, she pleaded with one of the men living at the babysitter’s to follow her back to the bus-stop which he did but the alleged stalker kept on walking behind them until they arrived.
Christine said that she hurried to enter a minibus but the man entered too and sat behind her. She added that she immediately jumped out the bus because of fear but he jumped out too. Christine panicked and re-entered the minibus and he followed her into the bus again.
“It was then that lost my cool and confronted him, telling him to leave me alone”, said Christine.
The passengers and the driver became involved, she said, and asked him why he was “harassing her”. The man responded, Christine told this newspaper, that he was doing nothing of the sort.
“I beg the driver,” she said, “not to let him enter the bus and the passengers including the driver became riled and locked him out. I became so scared that I was left with no choice but to make a report to the police”.
Christine said that after the she made the report the man stopped but she later found out that he was now stalking and frequently visiting her son at the babysitter: “He even taking snacks there for my son, the babysitter has since refused the offers but the man has continued.”
The woman said that now she is even more fearful that the man might try to kidnap her son. She has considered moving out of the East Coast area where she currently lives and moving to another location but cannot afford to do so now.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, yesterday, a senior rank of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said that Guyana has no law to protect females or anyone from stalkers. He explained that according to the law, a police officer can make an arrest if a person exhibits threatening behaviour towards their victim or uses threatening language.
He further highlighted threatening behaviour is interpreted as someone making attempts to assault, kill or abduct their victim. The high-ranking officer continued that with regards to threatening language, a police officer will act if the individual has threatened his victim verbally.
A prominent lawyer also told this media house it is because of the absence of such laws, there is a major gap in the justice system and advised that if not implemented it gives “a breeding space” for violent attacks on women.

The headline which was published by an online media house reads ‘35-Y-O woman stabbed to death by alleged stalker’ and told a dark tale of a mother who ended up being murdered by a man who repeatedly stalked her in pursuit of a relationship.
In February 2019, Nadine Kalamadeen, a 35-year-old woman of North Sophia, Greater Georgetown was stabbed to death a short distance away from her home by a man identified as Raymond, O’Selmo, a miner.
The man was a total stranger to woman but had stalked and harassed her for quite a while before he allegedly killed her. One of Kalamadeen’s friends had told Bibi Katoon a crime journalist that hours prior to her death, the alleged stalker had visited the woman’s home.
Kalamadeen had told him to go away but he ignored and even followed her to her friend’s place. The friend too had told the man to leave Kalamadeen alone. In an attempt to escape the man, she decided to visit her mother’s house but the man followed her again. It is unclear as to what transpired between the two; however, the friend recalled someone telling her that Kalamadeen was stabbed by a man. O’Selmo has since been charged for her murder and is currently in prison on remand.

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