Dear Editor,
The recent exposure in Stabroek News of the horrendous case of a 17-year-old girl being brutally raped and then attempting to commit suicide rather than endure the continuing travesty of a justice system which is inadequate, unjust, unworkable and irrelevant reveals in no uncertain terms the need to have the new Sexual Offences Act enacted and functioning immediately, as one step towards ending the abuse that victims of violence suffer.
However, it is not only the inadequacies of the law which this case reveals, but also the corruption and denial of justice presently operating in the investigation of cases of rape and sexual offences in Guyana, as well as a failed support system for survivors of rape and sexual assault.
We call on the Guyana Police Force to explain why they waited until the teenager attempted suicide to charge Mr Mark Forde, the ex-policeman who was alleged to have brutally raped her in October of 2008 – 8 months ago!
We also call on the Force to inform the public whether it is true, as reported in the Kaieteur News of June 24, 2009, that they intend to charge suicide survivors. The Guyana Police Force would be committing a further injustice against this girl and her brother, who have reportedly both survived suicide attempts, if this proved true. In a country riddled with crime and violence, and where we are constantly told that the justice system has inadequate resources, surely it cannot be true that any of these resources would be used to charge and prosecute people who have done no harm to others, and whose attempted self-harm is a further indictment of our systems?
The Coalition Against Sexual Offences repeats in no uncertain terms – and we intend to repeat it loudly and regardless of objections from any quarter – that we find it unacceptable that children and teenagers throughout Guyana are being forced every day to endure the denial of their basic human rights for a fair and impartial trial.
We commend the family of this girl for their bravery in exposing the reality of the justice system in Guyana and pledge our support in whatever way possible to her, her family and others facing similar injustices.
Yours faithfully,
Danuta Radzik
Vidyaratha Kissoon
Andaiye
Karen de Souza
For the Coalition
Against Sexual Offences
Against Children
Bravo, Bravo, Bravo sisters. Keep up the pressure. Those responsible for dragging their feet in this case, SHOULD BE FIRED.
You are absolutely correct, rohee haw should be asked to explain that to the people of this country and his other pal Manickchand should be asked to explain why was this case not prosecuted earlier.
Then the stupidity of the police force is to then counter with we will now prosecute people who attempt to commit suicide. Tell me something man do you people in the foolice force do any kind of reading? do you know what depression is?
Danuta and Vidyaratha, de two allya asking too many tough questions from these two Gov’t organizations that unfortunately lack Public Service leadership. Allya ah look fuh miracles.
Anyway something magnificent and much more important happened at the court, when the Judge asked the teenage(victim) to approach the bench, where she(teenager) was allowed to state some of her fears about the accused(PERPETRATOR). In other words, the teenager managed to get some of her suffering in silence(satisfaction)off of her chest in public. This is terrific stuff in facillitating the healing process.
Ironically, this is the initial steps on the road to recovery for an innocent victim, who actually contemplated suicide as an escape from her darkness. Public sunlight is the answer to her darkness and today I feel much better about her recovery. She needs to get satisfaction so as to regain her fragile confidence and innocence about right and wrong or good and bad.
When this case is finally called to trial I will advise the prosecution team to put this teenager on the stand so that she can exhale by getting all of the gory details of this criminal assault and battery(RAPE) off of her chest. She must be allowed a satisfactory opportunity in a Public Arena to rid herself of the shame and the blame of this egregious personal violation.
If found guilty, I hope that the Judge in public label this PERP as a Rapist and a Sex offender. Add his name and his picture to the Public registry with other sexual offenders. SN should find a way to publish the verdict of the trial as a Sunday headline story, so that would be potential Rapist know in no uncertain language that the Guyanese society will not tolerate any criminal violations against women folk.
As for making attempted SUICIDE a crime, I suspect nobody in the GPF ever heard of the term ‘Mental Illness’??…
Coalition: you are like a lighthouse in the storm. Kudos for posing these questions. In Guyana victims are doubly persecuted for asking for justice. The small man suffers while the ‘big ones’ thrive.
You know what is telling all the other bloggers that are usually on this site have nothing to write about this kind of letter or offer their support you know why?
They are a reflection of their guvament and the poo poo poo.
No need to explain. It was slackness, covering for a former buddy,stalling out to dissillusion the accuser to give up the case in disgust,and finally simply a brazen attempt at not enforcing the law, period.The officer in charge here should be held accountable, and fired.
Samaroo!(have we gotten our money’s worth)what money’s worth,& who we.Radzik & Kissoon what do you think they would say?That they were waiting on the file to be returned from the DPP.Come with something else.Damn.
The DPP said they sent back the file since march, why don’t you enlighten yourself!
I”ll ask one question do the gt govt they work for the people of gt how on earth they expect to win the next election or people still vote for they mattie im am so sick of these things going on in gt