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Silence at the top as data contradicts child abuse claims
(Kaieteur News) – Despite a glaring statistical divide between official rhetoric and on the ground reality, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security remains silent on why child abuse investigations are hitting record highs while the minister claims cases are “consistently” falling.
During the 2026 Budget Debates, Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud painted a hopeful picture for the National Assembly, citing a drop in child abuse cases from over 4,000 to approximately 3,000 over the last four years. However, an analysis of investigative records from the ministry’s own website and its partner, Blossom Inc., reveals a reality that the ministry has yet to explain.
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud
The contradiction lies in the use of forensic interviews, specialised, resource-intensive procedures reserved for the most serious allegations of abuse. While the minister claims a reduction in general cases, the data for these critical investigations shows a massive incline:2020: 396 forensic interviews and in 2025: 732 forensic interviews. This result in an 84.8 per cent increase in the most severe investigative workload over five years.
The peak in 2025 represents the highest workload in the recorded period. Should the abuse truly be on the decline, the ministry has offered no explanation as to why the demand for specialised, evidentiary interviews are outpacing population growth.
The discrepancy is likely even more profound than current records suggest. The figures available only represent the regions covered by Blossom Inc. (Regions One, Two, Seven, 10, and the East Bank). Data from ChildLink Inc., the NGO responsible for Central Georgetown, the East Coast, and Regions Three, Five, Six, Eight, and Nine, remains shielded from public view as it is not publicly posted on the NGO’s website nor the Ministry’s.
Efforts to contact the Child Protection Agency’s (CPA) Monitoring and Evaluation officer to reconcile these numbers were unsuccessful. Arguably, this lack of transparency means the public is left with a fractured view of child welfare, where the government’s “reduction” narrative is protected by the unavailability of data from the nation’s most populated corridors.
Beyond the administrative silence, the raw data reveals a specific, escalating crisis for girls in Guyana. Since 2020, forensic investigations involving female victims have nearly doubled, rising from 356 to 677.
By the end of 2025, the “investigative density” reached alarming levels, with eight out of every 1,000 girls in Guyana undergoing a forensic interview, and with a girl being 12 times more likely than a boy to be the subject of a forensic investigation.
The 2024 census confirms that Guyana is experiencing its highest growth rate since WWII, yet the youth birth rate remains stable. This means the 15.8 per cent spike in forensic interviews seen between 2024 and 2025 cannot be attributed to a sudden “baby boom.” Instead, it suggests the rate of serious abuse is intensifying.
While the ministry maintains its stance on a “consistent reduction,” the 732 forensic investigations recorded in 2025 representing only half the country’s geographical layout serve as a silent rebuttal to the official government position.
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