‘We are failing our children’ …CPA director condemns delays, bottlenecks in child sexual abuse investigations

May 12, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) Levine Gouveia on Monday criticised the major breakdown in Guyana’s response to child sexual abuse, citing delays in police investigations, inadequate medical responses, court backlogs and failures in protecting victims.

Presenting the five-year Statistical Sexual Violence Report for Children (2021 to present), Gouveia expressed frustration as she detailed what she described as systemic shortcomings affecting child victims across the country, and for which the ultimate blame is given to her.

Gouveia was addressing a Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) symposium hosted by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security under the theme, “Looking Back, Moving Forward – Roadmap to Prevention of Sexual Abuse & Harassment.” She described these figures as alarming.

While collaboration exists between the CPA and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Gouveia noted that operational failures continue to severely impact case management and child protection responses. “These issues need to be ventilated so the seriousness can be understood and it needs to be fixed now,” she urged. Among the concerns raised were delays in responding to reports, inconsistent handling of child-sensitive investigations, prolonged waits for medical examinations, difficulties obtaining updates on investigations and challenges gathering evidence.

Gouveia recounted cases in which children were allegedly traumatised during the investigative process. In one instance, she said a child who reported being molested underwent a forensic interview only to later be confronted at a police station by an investigating rank in the presence of the alleged perpetrator. “The officer said, ‘Is it because you were spurned by him, that is why you reported this matter?’ The child felt blamed because of the way she was spoken to,” Gouveia said.

In another case, she said a child who accused a police officer of abuse had to be removed from her district for protection while the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigated the matter. Although the investigation was expected to conclude within three months, it remains incomplete, she said, while the child’s protection order has expired. “The child is now back with the family who was coercing her not to tell her story. Chances are the child will recant her story because she is back in the environment…the investigations were not done in a timely manner,” Gouveia stated.

She also condemned delays in obtaining medical examinations for child victims, describing the situation as “appalling.” “The police would say they have to wait two to three weeks to get a medical done. It’s appalling because everything is time sensitive,” she said, adding, “We are failing our children. When I say we; it’s an inter-agency collaboration. So, when I say we, I’m not excluding CPA from the process; Ministry of Health, Guyana Police Force, we are all in this together.”

Gouveia referenced another recent rape case in which a region had no rape kit available. This required intervention from senior ministry officials to facilitate the examination, she said, but two weeks later, another rape victim, accompanied by a social worker and parent, was transported to Georgetown only to be sent back to the region before the examination was eventually conducted. “These are some of the hard pills that I have to swallow,” she said. “I am going to be frustrated and I am going to call my minister and permanent secretary and equally be frustrated over the process because I don’t know what else to do,” Gouveia expressed.

Despite the challenges, she said the CPA continues to strengthen its presence nationwide, with officers stationed across all districts and senior officers assigned to every district.

Continuing her presentation, she said sexual abuse cases involving children have remained persistently high between 2021 and the present, with 2022 recording the highest number of reported cases during the five-year period. Girls accounted for the majority of victims annually, particularly those between the ages of 14 and 18, while girls aged eight to 13 represented the second most affected group. “Notably, 77.1 per cent of children below the age of 18 are victims of child sexual abuse,” Gouveia disclosed.

Region Four consistently recorded the highest number of reported cases, followed by Regions Three and Six. However, she warned that lower figures in hinterland regions should not be interpreted as lower levels of abuse, explaining that underreporting remains a major challenge in remote communities. It is often “hush-hush” when it comes to reporting and oftentimes the perpetrators are persons within the community and are in positions of trust,” she said.

She added that prosecutions remain difficult in several hinterland regions due to logistical and operational challenges, though support from some Toshaos in Region Nine has helped advance cases.

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• child sexual abuse, child victims, Childcare and Protection Agency, Investigations

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