The Supreme Court of Judicature yesterday launched a $17 million Sexual Offences Court at Suddie, on the Essequibo Coast.
The cost includes training of relevant stakeholders and development of training material. Support was also provided by the British High Commission, the Canadian High Commission, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which are the Judiciary’s major partners in establishing the courts.
The new court, located at the High Court building at Suddie, is the third of its kind established in Guyana, the first having been established in Demerara in 2017, and the other in Berbice earlier this year. It is expected that with its establishment, residents of the county will no longer have to expend time and money to travel to Georgetown to have such matters heard. And in addition to providing a safe environment for alleged victims of sexual offences, it is also expected to afford persons accused of such offences a speedier trial.
A tour of the facility revealed that it includes a main courtroom, attached to a separate room, both of which are fitted with a closed-circuit television system (CCTV) linking the two rooms. The alleged victim can testify from the separate room, from which his or her testimony would be clearly broadcast in the main courtroom via the cameras. The room is decorated to invoke feelings of comfort and while testifying alleged victims can be accompanied by support personnel to make the process easier if need be.
Chancellor (ag) of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards explained that this improvement ensures that an alleged victim can give evidence in a comfortable environment, removed from the accused. She added that the way in which the court is set up will reduce the trauma which the alleged victim is likely to be exposed to, while securing the human rights of both the accused and the alleged victim.
Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, who chaired yesterday’s launch, added, however, that the witness dock will remain an option as some alleged victims, though few, opt to testify in the presence of the accused.
The Chancellor also shared that there is currently one High Court judge in Essequibo presiding over both civil and criminal matters. She said that the Judiciary is hopeful that more judges will soon be appointed, so that another judge can be sent to Essequibo, allowing for a judge to preside exclusively over the sexual offences court there, and the court to realise its true potential.
Impact of Sexual Offences courts
Giving an overview of the impact made by the Demerara and Berbice sexual offences courts since their establishment, the Chancellor shared that for 2017 and 2018, there were 44 sexual offences cases, of which 31 ended in convictions, and 13 in acquittals.
With regard to the convictions, sentences ranged from nine years imprisonment, to life imprisonment. Regarding the nature of these offences, there were seven cases of rape, 21 cases of rape of a child under 16 years, 15 cases of sexual activity with a child family member, and one case of carnal knowledge.
Thus far for 2019, 42 sexual offences cases have been completed, reflecting a significant increase in the number of cases tried in an individual year. This increase is credited to the establishment of the sexual offences courts, and the Judiciary’s move to paper committals over preliminary inquiries for matters of this nature.
Of these cases, there have been 22 convictions, 18 acquittals, and six hung juries, four of which were the result of the accused being indicted on more than one charge. The sentences in the case of the convictions ranged from nine years imprisonment to life imprisonment. Regarding the nature of the sexual offences, they include nine cases of rape, fifteen cases of rape of a child under sixteen years, fourteen cases of sexual activity with a child family member, one case of sexual activity with a child under sixteen years, and two cases of carnal knowledge of a child under fifteen years.
The Chancellor shared that in Demerara, for the April and July sessions, a total of one hundred and fifty-five, and one hundred and forty sexual offences cases, respectively, for a total of 295 sexual offences cases in Demerara for that period were brought before the court. Meanwhile, in Berbice, for the February and June sessions of this year, a total of thirty-eight and thirty-six sexual offences cases, respectively, for a total of seventy-four cases were brought before the court.
In Essequibo, for the February and May sessions, there were forty-four and thirty-eight sexual offences cases, respectively, for a total of 82 cases.
The average duration of a sexual offences trial stands at five days.
Gender and age disparity
Statistics provided by the Chancellor also revealed that women and girls are the majority victims of sexual offences in Guyana. For the period 2017 and 2018, 41 of the 44 victims were female, with the remaining three being men/boys. The ages of these victims for this period ranged from three years, to 25 years. Closer scrutiny also revealed that for this period, the ages for female victims ranged from three years, to 25 years, while the age of male victims ranged from three years to 14 years.
In 2019, the trend continued, with woman and girls making up the majority of sexual offences victims. Of the 42 sexual offences cases competed, 39 involved female alleged victims, the remaining three being boys. The ages of the victims ranged from three years to 77. The age range of female alleged victims was three years to 77 years, while the range for male alleged victims was three to six years.
Stabroek News understands that the much lower age range for sexual offences cases involving men and boys compared to that of women and girls is at least partially due to the fact that men are less likely than women to report sexual offences committed against them due to shame, and stigma associated with being a male victim of a sex-related crime.
Treaty imperative met
Meanwhile, Social Protection Minister Amna Ally told the launch that the establishment of the court ensures more effective implementation of the Sexual Offences Act 2010, while allowing Guyana to satisfy a recommendation of the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Sylvia Fouet, Resident Representative of UNICEF in Guyana, noted that statistics show that since Guyana implemented its sexual offences courts, conviction and reporting rates have increased.
She was, therefore, optimistic that the court in Essequibo will create several advantages, including bringing the court closer to the people, promoting child friendly procedures, and avoidance of double stigmatisation. She also called for the pushing back against the culture of silence, and acceptance which tend to surround sexual offences.
Delivering remarks on behalf of the Essequibo Bar, Lachmi Dindayal, attorney-at-law, said with the establishment of the specialised courtroom, he welcomes victims of sexual offences to come forward with complaints as the judiciary is now in a better position to handle their matters.
He added that it is important for children to know that there is an institution in Essequibo to offer protection as “where you have protection, you have dignity.”
Gloria Richards-Johnson, Project Director of the JURIST Project, noted that such courts promote a departure from reliance on anecdotal evidence, toward an evidence-based approach to addressing sexual offences, since there is an emphasis on data collection.
Janine Crocker, of the Canadian High Commission, congratulated Guyana for being a leader in the region on the subject of sexual offences, even as a 2016 assessment of countries in the region revealed major gaps in the regime which is supposed to address sexual offences, including delays, the undervaluation of sexual offences, lack of data collection, lack of interconnectedness between courts and other stakeholder agencies, and lack of training for officials required to interface with alleged sexual offences victims, and reduce backlogs in sexual offences cases.
Deputy British High Commissioner Ray Davidson, who also spoke at the launch, said that in addition to sexual offences courts, all Guyanese must assist in fighting sexual offences, particular those involving children. In this regard, he urged that persons be on the lookout for cases where persons give inappropriate gifts to children, where any boundaries are crossed, where adults treat children older than they are, where adults isolate children, or if they are often around children. He said that if everyone does their part, people can enjoy their lives, as opposed to having to question their lives.
