A child protection workshop was launched yesterday to sensitise members of the police force about responding to child abuse cases.
The three-day “Pickney Project Police Workshop” comes in the wake of the recent passage of the Child Protection Bill, which creates new responsibilities for members of the force when dealing with abuse reports. This workshop was organised by the Pickney Project, which is a collaborative effort between Help and Shelter and Everychild Guyana.
Delivering the feature address, Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand highlighted the importance of the role of the police in the effective functioning of the recently passed legislation. She stressed that most victims of abusive situations are reluctant to make police reports because of a lack of confidence in the entire system. This, she added, is the result of a variety of discriminatory forms of treatments and the absence of confidentiality that may have been meted out to victims by law enforcers.
According to Manickchand, “if people know or feel that they are going to be mocked and or laughed at because of the nature of their complaint, then they will shy away from utilising the services that are to be rendered by the police. This, we do not want to foster for our children. They must feel a sense of security and confidence in the system.”
Manickchand spoke of the compulsory “feedback” duty required of the police. After a report is made by an abused child or an adult acting for that child, the officer taking the statement has to immediately feed the finding information back to the Child Protection Agency of the Human Services Ministry. After the matter would have been investigated, the minister added that those findings would also have to be related to the agency so that the needs of the victim can be properly catered for. These compulsory steps, she noted, are provisions stipulated under the new law.
The police are also expected to treat each report with fairness and in an objective manner.
Manickchand said this piece of legislation is intended to do just what it suggests, “protect children. We can only do this however, if all stakeholders work in alliance with each other,” she said. The minister said one of the major issues with which they are faced when a new piece of law is enacted, is the ability to have it enforced. She emphasised, “our weakness in Guyana has been to enforce the legislation after they would have been passed in Parliament. Many times all we have is a nice piece of legislation sitting on paper. This, we don’t want for the child protection bill since we have seen the devastating effects of a lack of implementation resulting in murders when matters brought by victims are not acted upon and given justice.”
In brief opening remarks, Assistant Police Commissioner Krishna Lekhraj echoed the sentiments expressed by Manickchand about the importance of the police collaborating with all stakeholders in a bid to ensure the smooth operation of the legislation.
Acknowledging that the force is plagued with a number of challenges, Lekhraj signalled its intention to develop and maintain a sense of commitment as police officers realize and uphold their role in the new child protection legislation.
According to Lekhraj, he is aware that the efforts to ensure the success of the new child protection legislation will take cooperation and feedback from all members of the society, with police playing a pivotal role since they have to take the statements of complaints from victims.
The ceremony, which was held at the Pattensen Community Centre, Sophia, saw in attendance high level officers of the Police Force. Comments solicited from the police officers revealed that they are enthusiastic about the workshop. One officer said that she remains optimistic that the Child Protection Bill will achieve the aim for which it was crafted, “and that is, as its name suggests, to protect children.” Another said she is steadfast and will encourage her colleagues to be committed to the cause of protecting children “since they are the future and potential of Guyana.”
Also present at the opening ceremony was Vidyaratha Kissoon, Project Officer of the Pickney Project along with other representatives from Help and Shelter and Everychild Guyana.
The Pickney Project, which started in August 2008, is one which seeks to improve the lives of children experiencing violence and abuse and other vulnerable children at risk in Georgetown, Sophia, Good Hope and Region Nine by promoting the safety and protection of children. Among the projects’ objectives is working with the police force to ensure that its members respond to reports of child abuse in a professional manner, thereby ensuring victims are not further exposed to abuse.
