Two recent investigations into rape allegations by women in the interior have glaring exposed the Guyana Police Force’s failure to effectively deal with such and given that there is ongoing training, the most recent being in August this year, the police have no excuse for their lack of professionalism.
Rights activist Sherlina Nageer has called for police officers to be “disciplined publicly…,” when they err in such investigations, adding that this would bolster public confidence in the system.
Recently two senior police officers came in for criticisms after their comments about two allegations of rape suggested that they lacked understanding of the Sexual Offences Act 2010.
In one case a woman alleged that she was gang raped after being drugged, but Commander in area, Courtney Ramsey, had indicated that the young woman had been drinking all night and said she had sex with her boyfriend but was later assaulted by another man. The commander had stated that the police were not investigating rape and had been advised by the Director of Public Prosecutions Chambers to institute a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.
However, the complainant said she had told the police that while she was aware of being raped by one of the men she was unable to help herself and also stated that the police were hostile towards her. In the end, following intervention by the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), which submitted a statement and photographic evidence to the DPP’s Chambers, the police were instructed to widen their investigation.
The next case had to do with a woman with disability alleging that she was raped at Mathews Ridge and Commander Kevin Adonis saying that no rape investigation was being done since no semen been found in the complainant.
Yesterday Nageer said it was no longer a case of the police not receiving training but it appeared as if it was “going through one ear and passing through the other.”
Over the years the police have benefited from numerous training on how to treat victims of rape and sexual violence but as is in the case of domestic violence there continues to be a serious problem with the manner in which such investigations are conducted. Victims have cried out for justice and some have said that they are beaten or raped again by the same system that is supposed to assist them. As recent as August this year, members of the force were again trained on the Sexual Offences Act.
Nageer pointed out that if such level of ignorance is being exposed at the senior level one can only imagine what happens at the junior level.
“The problem is that we have all these lovely things in theory and on paper but we fall down at the actual practice of things,” she said.
She also pointed out that another problem is the fact that there seems to be no follow-up with police officers who would have undergone training to ascertain whether they understood the issues and if they are practicing what they learnt.
“Someone needs to be paying attention to find out how it is being done on the ground,” she said adding that there seems to be a basic lack of empathy from members of the force for victims who would have had traumatic experiences.
Nageer said the Ministry of Health also needs to be held accountable as there are reports of rape kits not being present at hospitals, when these are vital for the successful prosecution of rape cases.
“The rape kit is a key part of the gathering of evidence and if that is not collected at all or done properly then the case falls apart,” she said.
Non-implementation
However, while there continues to be a problem with police and their investigation, Help & Shelter member Danuta Radzik believes that the real problem lies in the non-implementation of the Sexual Offences Act 2010. She said that while the act is modern and forward thinking, the fact that the government and more specifically the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has failed to convene the Sexual Offences Task Force, which is part of the act under the heading of prevention, is a problem in itself.
She said the task force is vital and it was recognised by the act that there is need for a multi-stakeholder response to sexual violence. Besides the police and the DPP which deal with investigation and prosecution there is need for prevention and support services coupled with education.
Radzik pointed out that if rape victims and survivors are educated on the Sexual Offences Act then they would know what to expect and know their rights.
She disclosed that that there had only been a few meetings of the task force and those did not address in a comprehensive way any real serious issues surrounding sexual offences. She has intimate knowledge of this because she represents Help & Shelter on the task force.
According to Radzik a few months ago Minister of Human Services Jennifer Webster had employed the services of a consultant to write an action plan for the task force, when that was the responsibility of the task force. And while the action plan has been completed, she said, to date Help & Shelter has not been given a copy of it and as such did not know its contents.
She said it was clear under the act that once drugs or alcohol were involved then one cannot assume consent was given and also if any violence was used before or while the sexual act was being committed, it assumed that consent was not given.
Further, Radzik said it was unbelievable that the state has not done an ongoing education campaign informing people about the Sexual Offences Act because when people know their rights and the law then they can do what needs to be done.
“When you don’t know your rights how can you ensure the police do right thing?” she questioned.
Help & Shelter, she said, has been doing work in that area but like other non-governmental organisations it does not have the finances to do more, even though it is capable and willing to do more.
Calling the situation “appalling,” Radzik said that while the government seems to have a lot of money none is being funnelled into this area.
The problem is further compounded by the myth that the majority of rape victims lie about being assaulted, Radzik said, something that has been debunked by many studies. And some also still believe that women are raped because of the manner in which they dress or because they drank too much or various other reasons all of which blame the victim.
She called for more support to be given to victims in court, a service that Help & Shelter provides as this really makes a difference and enhances the court system. Since the Child Care & Protection Agency came into existence, Radzik said, it has not referred any of their child sex victims to Help & Shelter for court support.
“We can do that and we can do more if we get resources to expand these services. The agency does not have enough personnel to deal with all the issues, there is need for collaboration but the collaboration has to be real,” Radzik said.
