It would appear that child abuse has different definitions depending on where you live in the world. Or at least according to President Bharrat Jagdeo it does. Who knew? Perhaps this is why, despite the legislation; despite the concerted efforts of all concerned, curbing child abuse remains a struggle — the definition is at issue.

This newspaper and possibly most Guyanese as well, believe that child abuse is the term used to indicate when an adult harms another human being who is under the age of 18 years old; in other words, a child. It is also well known that children can be and are being physically, emotionally, mentally/psychologically and sexually abused and neglected and that in Guyana the incidence of these forms of abuse has been growing.

All the necessary evidence points to this and the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha must be commended for joining the battle to rid the country of this scourge that is being valiantly fought by local non-government organizations such as Help and Shelter, EveryChild Guyana, Rights of the Child, UNICEF and others, as well as the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Child Care and Protection Agency. The more hands that are placed at the wheel, the faster it turns.

But President Jagdeo did the Sabha and all child rights organizations and advocates a huge disservice with his unfortunate choice of words at the ‘Emerging Voices’ concert held at the Guyana Inter-national Conference Centre last week, when the ‘Voices Against Child Abuse’ campaign was launched. The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted him as saying, “Let us be careful, let us fight abuse in the extreme form, but do not… [succumb] to western or other people’s definition, because we can end up dispersing our efforts so thinly that we don’t focus on the real problems, which at this point in time are the extreme abuse in the form of physical violence against children.” There is no doubt that physical abuse of children is a real problem, but that’s just one of them. Sexual abuse of children is also rampant, as evidenced by the numbers of girls aged 12-15 who are pregnant or have given birth; or the numbers of young male commercial sex workers. A walk around Georgetown, or any village or town for that matter, will reveal a significant number of children, who, on a daily basis, are witnesses of spousal abuse; are dirty and hungry; are left in unsafe situations or without medical attention; are insulted, cursed or humiliated; are living with parents or carers who are involved in serious drug or alcohol abuse. These are all signs of abuse, which can seriously retard a child’s development.

If one takes the President’s statement literally, it seems to suggest that perhaps if children are not being physically battered then they are not being harmed and that the rest of it — the emotional, verbal and mental abuse and the neglect — are ‘western or other people’s definitions’ and do not really matter that much. But this is the mistaken perception all of the organizations involved in the struggle are trying to erase.

The President lauded the work being done by the Child Protection Agency, but he must be aware, since it is common knowledge, that invariably by the time this agency rescues a child the abuse has already occurred. The agency is indeed doing a remarkable job, but it is severely hampered by a shortage of human and other resources. The President must be aware that the Child Protection Agency is not and cannot be the be all and end all of solutions to problems relating to child abuse. If it were there would be no need for any other intervention such as that launched by the Sabha last Saturday.

In fact, it is the NGO effort which in the majority of cases helps prevent the abuse before it starts. The Help and Shelter/EveryChild Guyana ‘Pickney Project’ which works with parents, carers, the police, churches and the community to raise awareness about child protection is a prime example. The community becomes the eyes and ears with regard to noticing child abuse or the situations within which it can develop.

President Jagdeo should explain himself; unless he was attempting to better Minister of Education Shaik Baksh’s nomination for “the most unmitigated drivel uttered by a member of Cabinet this year” non-award.