-sensitisation activities to await amendments
Red Thread yesterday launched a household guidebook for the Sexual Offences Act but it is eagerly awaiting amendments to the law in order to begin an accompanying sensitisation programme.
The launch took place at the organisation’s Princes and Adelaide streets headquarters, where Red Thread’s Founder Karen De Souza informed that the book cannot be distributed until the amendments have been made.
“We have launched now because our work programme requires it to be launched now, even though the law is not fully enforced… It is going to be distributed once the amendments promised by Parliament are [in place] so that the laws are actually used,” she said.
The amendments are expected to be tabled after the National Assembly resumes from a recess next month and will include changes to the paper committal procedure after it was recently deemed unconstitutional.
Crafting of a two-part edification and sensitisation programme, a video and the handbook was undertaken by members of the organization, with funding of US$60,000 ($12 million) from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
The compilation of the handbook proved very challenging, De Souza noted, adding that one of the most difficult parts was translating legal jargon into layman’s language. “Legal language is never written for the layperson to understand,” she explained. “Sometimes you might see something in the law, your understanding of English says one thing but it doesn’t mean that…so that was a big challenge.”
She also noted that the law itemises, very painstakingly, a whole range of offences in a repetitive manner, which also proved problematic for them. “For example, conditions that are itemised in section nine refer you to section five… and you are constantly to-ing and fro-ing,” she added.
The guidebook is intended to bring to the front-burner the stigmatisation of sexually assaulted victims and it is envisioned that with every household owning one of the books, people will be more sensitive and informed before casting blame and “finger-pointing”.
“This guidebook and video [are] intended to open up the discussion and to challenge people to question the responses when they hear somebody say that they are glad when someone they don’t like is raped, the ‘it-good-fuh-she’ type of thing,” she said.
“The law itself requires that public education be done, preventative education be done and that it’s gender neutral,” she also said.
De Souza also recalled a Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) study which showed that the conviction rate for rape was extremely low and that most cases don’t make it through to the trial anyway and she said she is confident that the new law has the potential to change that situation. “We want this to be implemented soon so than the numbers between reported cases and the cases that are actually tried are on par,” she noted.
