Dear Editor,
Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi—“the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it treats its weakest member.” Currently in Guyana, no one can dispute the fact that monsters dwell among us. The only question is what to do with them once they become known to us. Sex crimes, especially against the babes, only serve to evoke strong feelings of revulsion and repugnance. To put it in plain Guyanese parlance, “when your sexual urges rise, then go in search of someone your size”. Allow the underage and teens the opportunity to grow and to anyone else your sexual organ show.
Between January 1 and November 13, 2023, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) recorded 182 reported rape cases. One underlying problem facing the country is that none of the penalties effectively act as true deterrents. Threat of prison does not scare anyone who does evil – it is an accepted fact in the criminal culture, and sometimes a badge of honour. In April 2015, the Caribbean Voice, an overseas based non-governmental organization, forwarded signed petitions to the Government of Guyana requesting the initiation of a Sex Offenders Registry. In September 2023, according to news report, the Guyana Government has decided to review the Sexual Offences Act of 2010 in an effort to end sexual assault, and was searching for a consultant to help in this regard.
In a recent notice published in the media, the government had invited bids from individual consulting services to review the Sexual Offences Act and provide recommendations. What plans will be put in place to further strengthen existing ones to stem this scourge? Chemical castration reduces the hormonal influence and the physical castration is a deterrent. Life in prison is a monetary burden to the rest of society. We do not have a functioning death penalty. Ergo, if we do not intend to castrate them, does our hope of elimination lie in killing their destructive impulses? Sexual predators do not outgrow their behaviour. Regardless of measures taken, the nation’s response to sexual predators must balance the extent and intensity of the possible behaviour with the probability of its occurrence.
Perhaps no-parole life sentences for certain sex crimes would be a more straightforward answer. In any event, such laws offer our only hope against an epidemic of sexual violence that threatens to pollute our society beyond the possibility of its own rehabilitation. The time is now, the present, to institute never-before-seen measures in cases of rape. Are Guyanese males so desperate for sex that they have to take it from any age? The answer may very well lie in taking a theoretical and operational approach. What form of therapy does the sex offender undergo while in prison? What is Guyana’s current rate of sexual recidivism? As the Government prepares to review the Sexual Offences Act it is blatantly apparent that in addition to seeking a consultant for recommendations, some significant others should also be on board to ensure progress and ultimate success — viz: psychotherapists, guidance counsellors, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, media awareness, community awareness, doctors, lawyers, social workers, nurses, teachers, parents, spiritual leaders, educational awareness blitz, taxi drivers, shopkeepers.
On behalf of the females in Guyana, this call to the government is being made— Do not let the females down, on the issue of rape— Stand your ground. Let no offender escape.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Sam.
