In 2017, only 30 percent of 841 cases of child sexual abuse were referred for therapy, which means that it is possible that “close to 600 victims… may never receive trauma-focused therapy to heal from the trauma,” according to ChildLink Forensic Interviewer Nicole Whaul.
Whaul, during a presentation at the University of Guyana’s 14th Turkeyen and Tain Talks, held at the Pegasus Hotel on September 21st under the theme “A Better Life for Youth: Juvenile Justice in Guyana,” pointed out that those who do not receive therapy are “likely to grow into adulthood struggling to suppress their childhood trauma.”
She noted that child sexual abuse victims are in urgent need of trauma-focused therapy and other psycho-social interventions.