A group of women from Red Thread and Help and Shelter on Thursday again conducted a protest in front of the Office of the President (OP), which they said will continue until they are satisfied that everything possible was being done to stop all forms of violence against children.

Some of the protesters

Joycelyn Bacchus, Coordinator of Network for Women – an arm of Red Thread, said they will not cease their protest actions until legislation is drafted by parliament to properly cater for the needs of children. “We will continue to protest to put pressure on the authorities to ensure that they do their job to protect our children who are the future,” Bacchus said.
She said that for now, the protest will primarily focus on protecting children from sexual offenders. “The Minister of Human Services and Social Security has to do more. We need to see laws not only being put in place but enacted and enforced as well,” she emphasised.

Other protesters with whom this newspaper spoke said they will not rest until they get what they want. One woman told Stabroek News that the police need to be more efficient in executing their job. “Too many times, if the police take statements at all, they do not do proper investigations and nothing come out of the cases.”

The women are urging all civic-minded citizens to get involved and support the protest in a bid to protect Guyana’s Children from abusive situations and relationships.

The coalition of Red Thread and Help and Shelter to stamp out sexual violence against children began picketing OP last month, intensifying its campaign to have the laws changed. It said its efforts were directed to parliamentarians and members of the judiciary, whom the coalition had repeatedly urged to “honour their responsibilities” towards children. “We are picketing to warn all elements of the justice system that we are going to monitor their actions to ensure that they use the new legislation for the protection of our children far better than they have used what is available to them under the present legislation…” it had said in a statement.

Saying the reformed sexual offences law is a “done deal,” Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand had on May 29 called on groups campaigning for the swift implementation of the legislation to channel their efforts sensibly.

The minister was referring to the picketing coalition though she made no direct reference to it in a statement released.
The body has stepped up its campaign in calling for reformed laws, saying that it wants both government and opposition to stop replacing the protection of children from sexual violence with other priorities which they recognise as “security issues” or “national issues.”

The protest which is organised by Red Thread is held every Thursday at OP from 4 pm to 5 pm.