More sexual abuse protections for children needed -Holder

The Alliance For Change (AFC) says it is committed to introducing policies that would encourage the rebuilding of the family structure in the face of recurring cases of sexual abuse against children.

Prime Ministerial candidate of the party Sheila Holder noted during a press conference yesterday that there are many “heinous sexual assault crimes” against children in Guyana which remain unsolved, with many of them being cases of abuse by men against children.

Sheila Holder

Reading from a prepared statement, Holder said that the party sees a nexus between “such moral bankruptcy” and poor governance being delivered by many institutions in the areas of the rule of law and the government. She said the party was reminding the administration of its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of the Child Commission of their obligations under the constitution of Guyana to intervene in an effective manner to protect Guyana’s children.

She said the party is urging families not to “fall prey” to a “payoff” in return for keeping the abuse of children hidden and in the hope of sparing the family public embarrassment.

She also said that the party is calling on the plethora of faith-based organisations present in each community within Guyana to re-educate “their flock” to empower Guyanese to take the appropriate action to rid society of “this scourge targeting Guyana’s children.”