Dear Editor,
The Stabroek News of Saturday, August15 carried a story that the number of reports of rape now averages a little over one a day. It has to be borne in mind that rape and other forms of sexual violence are under-reported. The police have indicated that the majority of reports concern the rape of girl children. The rape culture is thriving in Guyana and our children are not immune.
The Sexual Offences Act of 2010 has a part on prevention. Section 87 requires that the President should convene an inter-agency National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Violence, and the section lists who the members should be and the responsibilities of the task force. The SOA mandates that the task force should be supported by a Sexual Violence Unit in the Ministry of Social Protection. Neither the task force nor the unit seemed to have been functional under the previous administration.
The new government no doubt has many things to fix. Changing the rape culture requires intense effort at all levels of the society. The establishment of the National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Violence would undoubtedly signify the government’s intention to respond to the incidence of rape and other sexual offences.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
