Recognising that the levels of abuse are exceedingly high in hinterland areas, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) recently conducted a training exercise with parents to prevent child abuse.
The Agency said sessions were conducted in two communities within Region One (Barima-Waini) in collaboration with the Schools’ Welfare Department and other stakeholders.
On the other hand, another session was facilitated in Agricola, Greater Georgetown. That training was conducted with support from Sol Guyana.
CC&PA Director Ann Greene had previously said that there remained a gap between what the law required and the innate culture of some communities as she was speaking on the attempts of the Agency to address child sexual abuse in communities within the interior regions.
“We have found that Region One [Barima-Waini] and Region Seven [Cuyuni-Mazaruni] would stand out in cases of sexual abuse against children. If we look at the particular regions, we have a gap between the law and the culture in those areas. That means that there’s the law that says sexual activity at age 16, but in some culture groups, there’s a younger age,” Greene told this newspaper in an invited comment.
She said the law works for all children and that is what the Agency has been doing over time.
In a similar instance, the CC&PA was able to rescue three young children from the home of their biological father in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). And while the issue of the law versus culture speaks specifically to the abuse of children who may not be related to their abuser, Greene said the CC&PA has been receiving numerous reports of incestuous child sexual abuse cases.
In that particular case, three children were rescued from an allegedly abusive home in Region Nine.
They were subsequently brought to Georgetown. Medical examinations proved that the two girls have been sexually molested, but their male sibling was not. Additionally, a 14-year-old female sibling who had relocated earlier in the year was also examined and found to have been sexually abused.
The children’s father was also brought to Georgetown to further assist with investigations. The four children remain in the State’s custody while their 49-year-old father is in Police custody.
Acting on reports made by village leaders, including school teachers in Quarrie, a satellite community of St Ignatius Village in Region Nine, CC&PA officials on Monday took the children from the home in which they resided with their father and carried them to the Lethem Police Station in an effort to have that entity assist with investigations.
