A group of advocacy non-government organisations will be holding a public forum on the use of sexual violence in gross human rights violations tomorrow from 2.00 to 5.00 pm at the Saint Stanislaus College’s auditorium 1- 3 Brickdam, Stabroek.
A release from the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on behalf of the group which includes the Colwyn Harding Support Group, Help and Shelter and Red Thread said that the public forum was part of their activism to commemorate International Day for the right to truth concerning gross human rights violations and for the dignity of victims observed on March 24 annually.
It said that the forum was being organised to raise awareness on the scourge of sexual violence affecting the society and to come up with a plan of action on what can be done to curb this crime.
The release said, “With more frequent allegations being made against the police for utilising forms of sexual violence as a means of torture to interrogate those in their custody, over 570 cases of child sexual abuse being reported to the Childcare and Protection Agency in 2013, and with a prosecution rate of about 1% for rape cases in Guyana, the collaborating human rights groups have taken note of how sexual violence is destroying our society and are determined to work towards securing justice for victims who suffer in silence because of Guyana’s flourishing rape culture.”
Speakers at Sunday’s public forum will include Sharon Harding, mother of Colwyn Harding, Danuta Radzik of Help and Shelter and Wintress White of Red Thread, among others. The event will be moderated by SASOD’s Secretary, Zenita Nicholson, who is the inaugural, 2014 recipient of the US Embassy’s International Women of Courage Award.
“The public is encouraged to come out to this forum and be a part of the discussions leading to the development of a community-led plan of action for curbing this heinous crime. Given the failures of the state to protect its citizens from violence, concerned Guyanese must take action,” the release said.
On March 24, the groups had continued their picketing exercises outside the Providence Magistrate Court where Colwyn Harding, Teneisha Evans and Tiffany Edwards were responding to charges of assault and disorderly conduct against Constable Singh who had allegedly beat and raped Harding with a condom-covered baton. On that evening, the groups also appeared on a special television programme on ‘Sexual Violence and Human Rights in Guyana’ on HBTV Channel 9.
