The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security yesterday expressed “absolute disgust” over the publication of images of children involved in sexual acts in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle and on social media.
In a statement, the Ministry through its Child Care and Protection Agency said that the sexual acts have “exposed a tremendous need for more to be done by parents, teachers and our society as a whole to ensure that our children understand and practice moral values that would prevent them from making poor decisions.”
The sexual acts involved children from a high school and were apparently filmed at a home.
The ministry yesterday charged that some sections of the media sought to exploit this issue in the press and shared images which have been widely distributed.
The ministry said the report in yesterday’s Guyana Chronicle “will also serve to unsettle other children. Imagine their sense of diminished pride and the glaring suspicion that everyone around them must be aware of this most sordid affair! The racial identities of the children, the school they attend and the compromising acts being performed are obvious in the images.
The lives of these children and their families are certainly in turmoil over this unfortunate situation and now they have been further humiliated by the publication of these images both on the internet and in the print media. The impact of such an action will affect their self-esteem, and may have serious consequences upon their lives in the future.”
Following an outpouring of outrage over the publishing of the images, the Guyana Chronicle withdrew the material from its website yesterday.
The ministry said it “unequivocally condemns such irresponsible behaviour from media operatives who ought to know better. Media personnel have continuously received training on the ethics of journalism, the legal implications and the importance of safeguarding the identity and integrity of our children.”
The ministry and the Child Care and Protection Agency called on the Guyana Chronicle to “publicly apologize for the publication of these images” and urged everyone associated with the electronic publication of the obscene images to desist.
“The dissemination of these images have negatively impacted upon the efforts and progress made with respect to child protection in Guyana. The upgrading of our laws to cater for electronic and cyber crime is much needed to address such issues”, the ministry stated.
It noted that Guyana is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which addresses the issue of human rights of children. Article 17 of the Conven-tion underscores the responsibilities of mass media organizations, including ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of children and adolescents.
“Our local laws also clearly state acceptable standards for media publications of sexual content. It is therefore appalling that these have been blatantly ignored by media personnel, particularly the Guy-ana Chronicle newspaper”, the statement lamented.
