The picketing exercise was preceded by a letter, published in yesterday’s Stabroek News, signed by representatives of seven civil society groups, who asked why three years after the SOA was assented to by the President, it still has not been fully implemented. This, they say, has caused many women to continue to be subjected to practices which have been done away with under the law.
Among these practices is the act of ‘confrontations,’ where women are required to face their alleged attackers to identify them. Karen de Souza of Red Thread yesterday told Stabroek News that reports have been made to the organisation that this practice persists, despite the fact that it was specifically repealed in the SOA 2010.
She also said that the new Act requires a complete overhaul of the way sexual offences are addressed, including ongoing specialised training for all sectors of the justice system, health and social services and law enforcement on the provisions of the SOA. This, too, is not being done as it ought to be.
According to de Souza, provisions mandating the state to educate Guyanese about the SOA have also failed to materialise.
She also lamented the inactivity of the Sexual Offences Task Force (SOTF). “What is equally unacceptable is that the SOTF, an interagency body whose overall responsibility as outlined in the SOA is to develop a national plan for the prevention of sexual violence in Guyana, is not being allowed to do its work because the Ministry of Human Services has failed to convene meetings,” she added.
She said that since the Task Force was given its mandate in 2010, it has only been convened twice.
The slow movement of the Act’s implementation is hampering justice for many women, who continue to be violated, de Souza said, adding that it is imperative that they be implemented with urgency.
de Souza said that two weeks ago contact was made with the Director of Social Services to find out when the next meeting would be held. The Director, who could not say at the time promised to get back to the group, but has not done so thus far.
In the letter, the groups “demand that the SOA be fully implemented without delay and the Sexual Offences Task Force be allowed to carry out its functions as set out in 2010.”
The signatories to the letter were: Omattie Madray, ChildLink; Norma Adrian, Grassroots Women Across Race; Leon Walcott, Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities; Pamela Nauth, Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association; Josephine Whitehead, Help & Shelter; Karen de Souza, Red Thread; and Zenita Nicholson, SASOD.
