Dear Editor
The media on January 6 and 7, reported on the case of a 20 or 21-year-old man and 14-year-old girl who were found dead in East Berbice. There has been speculation. Many sections of the media though, had no problem using the word ‘lover’ to describe the relationship of the man to the girl child who might have been pregnant.
Guyana has an ugly history of child sexual abuse being condoned, and there is a pervasive culture of condoning the rape of children. The man was not the ‘lover’ of the child. If he had sex with her, he raped her.
It does not matter whether or not the parents approved of any relationship between their child and an adult. Messed up as we are in Guyana when it comes to the enforcement of laws, we moved the laws to put the age of consent at 16 years, while advocating for education for all children up to 15 years.
Rape and statutory rape, should be named when they occur. The media has a role to play in changing the culture which condones the abuse of children. As a society, we have a lot of work to do on understanding ‘love’ as nurturing rather than destroying. Rape is not love.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
