Flight of rescued girls could hamper investigation – De Souza

The flight of three of the four girls who were rescued from an alleged prostitution ring in the Oko Backdam, in Region Seven, could hamper the police investigation, according to women’s rights activist Karen De Souza, who has also knocked the manner in which human trafficking is handled by the authorities.

De Souza yesterday criticized the “casual manner” in which human trafficking is being dealt with by the Ministry of Human Services and she said the authorities want to deny that it exists instead of attempting to find out the extent of the situation.

The girls, who were in the care of the Child Care and Protection Agency, left the shelter on Friday night and Saturday night and have since returned to their homes in Berbice.

One of the girls, a 16-year-old, had escaped from the backdam about two weeks after she alleged she was being forced to work as a sex worker by a woman who had recruited her to work in her shop. She was put on to the members of the Guyana Women’s Miners Association, who later contacted the police. Three other girls, two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old, were subsequently removed from the backdam.

The police arrested the husband and wife who allegedly ran the prostitution ring but they were later released on station bail.

Yesterday, De Souza said she was concerned about the fact that the alleged perpetrators were placed on bail, while pointing out that the two could easily disappear since they work in the interior. “In this case, they pulled in the suspected traffickers but how could they release them when they don’t know where they are going to go. They could go into the interior,” De Souza said.

In relation to the teenagers, DeSouza said a lot of time should be spent talking to them and finding out about their lives and about their future.

Last week, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had indicated that the couple was released after the 72-hour period within which the police can legally keep a person in custody without charge had elapsed. He said yesterday that the police had wrapped up its investigation and that the file had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

Meanwhile, Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency Ann Greene said that the girls did not escape, since the facility is not a jail. She said they ran away.

“These girls need help and they don’t even know they need help,” Greene said, noting that the agency would continue to work with the girls and their families since they need to go through a whole “re-socialisation” process. She said the trafficking in persons unit would continue to deal with that aspect of the case.

Greene added that she was sad that the girls left even though they were told that they should remain at the shelter for their own safety. “But they did not see it that way and it will be tough but we will continue to work with them,” she said, adding that the girls felt that her agency was preventing them from “doing certain things”. She said they have not attempted to get the girls back into the shelter but they will continue to work with them and their families.