Two NGOs staged a protest outside the Office of the President yesterday calling for the immediate enactment of the Sexual Offences bill.

The latest outrage, according to Red Thread spokeswoman Karen De Souza, is the decision to charge an underage boy found in a house on the East Coast Demerara. Fifteen persons participated in the protest including members of Red Thread, Help and Shelter and other concerned persons. They held signs with slogans such as ‘Where is the sexual offences law? No more delays, we have waited a whole year’, ‘our children need justice now’, ‘Pass sexual offences law now’, among others. They also displayed articles culled from newspapers about sexual offences.

Several of the protesters in front of the Office of the President yesterday. Second from right is Red Thread member, Karen De Souza.

“We have been waiting too long” De Souza told the media stating that the passing of the law is a matter of urgency and they are not prepared to wait any longer. She noted that they have been waiting for over a year for the sexual offences legislation to be enacted. “We need the law now”, she declared. The group protested for an hour. They also plan to take further protest action.