More reports on sex crimes

– since launch of TELL campaign

By Samuel Sukhnandan –

Reports of sexual abuse against children have increased across Guyana, with the help of the TELL campaign which was launched late last year. ‘ChildLinK’, one of the largest non-governmental organisations working to protect the rights of children, has been carrying out the campaign, under the direction of the Human Services and Social Security Ministry.
ChildLinK Country Director Omattie Madray said last Friday that there has been a general increase in reports stemming from the work of the campaign. Madray said so far, the TELL campaign has been very effective in the sense that all stakeholders involved are ready and willing to participate.

Coming out of this, children are more comfortable to speak about their problems.
“Children really like the TELL scheme. They are not tested on it and it has a lot of singing and drawing. It also involves the use of colour poster and flash cards, so it makes the lessons very exciting and learner- friendly,” TELL Campaign Facilitator Kean Chase said.
According to ChildLinK, teachers also like the campaign, since it does not require them to prepare teaching schemes and it strengthens the relationship that exists between them and their pupils in the classroom.
The two- day intense training is being done in schools and other institutions filled with children.
Madray said the TELL campaign is not looking to burden teachers or have them fill the role of a social worker or counsellor, therefore the reporting structure is simple. Teachers and head teachers would have to fill up a form and refer the matter to a school welfare officer, a probation officer, or the nearest police station. The law then steps in and takes over the matter in full.
The project is now in its third phase. The first phase began in 2011 under the Sexual Offences Act training, with 206 teachers and 101 parents being trained.
In the second phase, 141 teachers and 26 parents were trained. Parents have already said that it has helped to strengthen the relationship they have with their children, who are now speaking more openly on issues that affect them. Parents are also having a better understanding of child protection and the laws that are in place.
Madray said that the campaign has covered the entire Georgetown, and Regions Two, Three, Four and 10.
She explained that aside from the increase in sexual abuse cases being reported, there has also been an increase in reports of truancy and physical abuse. This, she believes, is a good step in helping to shape a better relationship between children and their parents, which is lacking in many families, and contributes to the significant number of sexual abuse cases reported. There were 742 cases of sexual abuse against children recorded during 2012.
Launched in November 2012, the TELL campaign aims at empowering children to disclose any form of sexual violence. The campaign provides education designed to promote disclosure and prevention, and to develop community-based interpersonal communication activities, so as to reduce children’s vulnerability to sexual violence.
The TELL principle is that children who are abused are often threatened or warned not to tell, and in Guyana, there is a considerable degree of silence and secrecy on such issues.
Guyanese, especially children, are not as expressive as people in Western societies and cultures; therefore, the TELL scheme forms a part of a larger effort of social transformation aimed at building a culture of disclosure.
The TELL scheme is a part of the public awareness campaign which re-enforces the Sexual Offences Act signed into law in 2010, and encourages confessions of sexual violence from children.
The initiative is being conducted through the Human Services and Social Security Ministry and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).