The last article in this column wrapped up our break-down of the offence of sexual activity with a child by abusing a position of trust. This week, we continue our examination of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the SOA) by breaking down the offences of obstructing prosecutions and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.
Section 20 of the SOA provides that where a person is charged with any offence under the SOA, the offence of obstructing the prosecution will be committed where any person prevents a child from: a) giving statements to the police, b) giving evidence in any other way which would be admissible for the paper committal; c) or testifying in any criminal proceedings. This offence is a summary offence, meaning that if charged for this offence, an accused would be tried in a magistrates’ court.
A few things must be said about the object and purpose of this offence. Notably, though the SOA covers illegal sexual conduct against children as well as adults, section 20 specifically mentions that trying to prevent a child from giving statements, otherwise giving evidence admissible in a paper committal, or testifying in a criminal trial. Now, all victims of sexual offences are vulnerable for various reasons, including due to the trauma which is well documented to accompany such experiences. Children, however, are particularly vulnerable for a multitude of reasons. We know that children usually know their assaulters. These persons, including, but not limited to family members, family friends, and teachers tend to still have access to the children, unless an order is granted preventing this, or unless other non-judicial steps are taken to protect them. In Guyana, there have been more than a few news reports of alleged attempts by persons accused of sexual activity with a child to convince the child not to give evidence against them. Unfortunately, there have also been cases where the family of a victim has demanded payment from the accused in exchange for the victim agreeing not to give evidence against the accused. Both sets of conduct are unlawful under section 20 of the SOA.
The provision is monumentally important, although it is uncertain how effective it is in preventing such obstructions. On 17th August 2019, the Kaieteur News reported significant increases of convictions in sexual offences matters between 2016-2019. It was said that there was a 10 percent conviction rate in 2016, a 25 percent conviction rate in 2017, and a 60 percent conviction rate in 2018. For 2019, there had been no convictions in Essequibo, while Demerara and Essequibo saw conviction rates of 32 percent and 12.5 percent respectively. Of course, these figures do not show how many of these offences were against children, so we are not able to gauge the efficacy of this provision in ensuring that allegations of sexual offences against minors go to court, and or to trial.
Some useful statistics, however, were reported in an article by the Guyana Standard (https://www.guyanastandard.com/2020/05/17/alarmingly-high-statistics-show-sexual-offences-against-children-in-guyana-escalating-to-crisis-ccj-judge/). In that Article, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) was asked to provide statistics to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on trends regarding sexual offences involving children. The DPP reported that between 2014-2019, 54.29 percent of all cases reported were sexual offences cases, and of that number, 72.12 percent, a staggering number) constituted sexual offences against children. The situation in Berbice was exceptionally bad, as between 2014-2019, 84.87 percent, 89.3 percent, 94.43 percent, 89.1 percent, and 97.27 percent of all sexual offences matters prosecuted in each year respectively, involved sexual offences against minors. The CCJ said that its calculations revealed that the six-year average for sexual offences involving minors in Berbice, as a percentage of all sexual offences, was 90.17 percent, while the three-year average for 2017-2019 was 91.8 percent. The CCJ also expressed a view that there was a “crisis”, given that the number of sexual offences matters involving minors in the Berbice was 97.4 percent in February, 94.4 percent in June, and 100 percent in October.
These numbers demonstrate that sexual offences generally, and sexual offences against minors is a serious, prevailing issue in Guyana. This reality speaks to the importance of preventing accused persons or their agents from seeking to obstruct minor victims of sexual offences from giving the evidence that could help convict their abuser.
Despite the challenges in quantifying the direct impact of Section 20 of the SOA on improving conviction rates and facilitating the participation of child victims in the prosecution of their abusers, the legislation serves as a crucial foundation for building a more just and protective environment for children. It embodies the legislative intent to create barriers against the manipulation and intimidation of vulnerable victims, aiming to ensure that justice is not only pursued but achieved.
While the SOA’s provisions represent significant strides toward addressing sexual offences against children in Guyana, the persistent high rates of such crimes and the complexities involved in bringing abusers to justice highlight the need for continuous evaluation and enhancement of these legal frameworks.
Mr Chevy Devonish is a Senior Legal Advisor with the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, and a Part-time Lecturer at the University of Guyana. You can contact Mr Devonish at chevydevonish@gmail.com.
