On average, there has been just over one reported rape a day for the first seven months of the year, according to the latest statistics released by the Guyana Police Force, which recorded 243 reports up to the end of July.
According to the force, this number represents a 68% increase and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum credits the rise in reports to growing public confidence in the established divisional units that have been set up to deal with sex crimes.
The 243 rape reports for the first seven months (212 days) eclipse the 145 reports that were recorded by police for the same period last year.
The force yesterday released its crime statistics for the year up to July and for a second month reported a huge increase in rape reports.
Last month, police had said that a total of 207 reports of rape were recorded at the end of June, in comparison with 119 for the same period in 2014, which represented a 74% increase.
Blanhum said the majority of the victims are underage girls. He added that men must understand that they cannot be engaged in sexual activity with minors. Even if the sexual activity is consensual, he noted, it is considered statutory rape if the girl is below the age of consent, which is 16 years. He said if the men are caught or a report is made, police will take action.
There has been growing public concern at the low conviction rate for sexual offences.
As part of observations for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, several activists staged a protest outside the Eve Leary office of the then Crime Chief to highlight rape and the need to implement legislation enacted to protect women and girls from sexual violence.
Coordinator Roxanne Myers said the group took the decision to launch a month-long protest in response to the growing number of sexual violence incidents against women and children. “It’s not just the police that has a role to play, it’s all institutes that need to step up their game,” she had said, while emphasising the need for speedy trials and stricter penalties for sexual violence related cases.
“What has been happening over the years is wholly unacceptable,” Nicole Cole, Rights of the Child commissioner, added. She said that in 2010, the conviction rate of rape cases was a mere 1%. “You would think there would have been an improvement in the conviction rate since then but there hasn’t, it went from 1% to 0%,” Cole exclaimed. She pointed out that Guyana had been flagged for its 22 rape cases that ended without convictions between 2012 and 2013.
