Women continuing to be violated in interior

- women miners head says after reported drugging and rape

President of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) Simona Broomes says the alleged drugging and brutal rape of a young woman at a popular Mahdia hotel and bar highlights the violation and injustice women in the interior often endure.

While indicating that she supports a call for justice, Broomes, who has been at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking, including sex slavery in the interior, questioned what kind of justice a woman in such a situation can expect when those in authority do nothing to deal with it.

The young woman, who hails from a small Amerindian village in Region Eight, was hospitalised after successive sexual assaults by three men last Saturday at the hotel where she worked. She later made a report to the police and was afterward approached by one of her alleged assailants and another person to drop the criminal complaint and enter into a settlement but she refused.

One of the several bruises on the young woman’s shoulder
One of the several bruises on the young woman’s shoulder

It is unclear where the alleged perpetrators-one of the hotel owner’s sons, his brother-in-law and a security guard—are and Stabroek News was also unable to ascertain from the police what steps are being taken to have the matter investigated and the trio arrested.

Broomes, who said the GWMO would be paying keen interest in this case, said yesterday that such stories reflect a recurring situation, particularly in the interior locations. “I am happy that women are raising their voices, though they are being ignored to some extent,” she said, while adding that such attacks have been going unnoticed for a long time. She said that she often feels it for the victims because “nobody cares.”

In condemning the attack on the young woman, Broomes noted that the police are sometimes to be blamed for the injustice done to these women as it relates to how they treat the matters when they are reported. She urged the police to treat this sort of crime with seriousness.

She recalled that sometime late last year the GWMO informed the police about a case involving a woman at Mahdia and to date the police have not acted. Broomes explained that the woman spoke about a lot of things she experienced at the hands of police.

She also noted the recent rape and murder of a mother of one at Matthews Ridge and said the recent attacks are shameful. Broomes said that in the 26 years she has been in the interior, she has seen these cases recurring over and over. She said too that sometimes at the police stations the victims are treated as though they are criminals. “It is very sad,” she said, before adding that such violation of rights “is a pain you could never recover from.”

Meanwhile, Alliance for Change (AFC) Member of Parliament Valerie Garrido-Lowe is in possession of some photographs of the young woman in which bruises on her shoulder and chest are clearly visible.

Garrido-Lowe said that she has since spoken with the Regional Chairman and has received a positive response. She plans to make contact with the police on the issue.

She told Stabroek News that at the moment she is very concerned about the safety of the woman and another young woman she is with, although both of them have left the area.

She noted that a lot of bars hire attractive girls to keep customers coming.

Based on what the young woman related, she was drugged while she and her co-workers were celebrating a birthday on the premises of the hotel and bar. Thereafter, she said, she was led into a room at the hotel by a son of the owner and he took advantage of her. She passed out and woke up later to find another man, the brother-in-law of the owner, attempting to sodomise her and she fought. She claimed that a third man, the security guard of the premises, who is employed by the owner of the building, also took advantage of her and she passed out once again.

The woman, who was employed by the business for almost a year, recounted that when she woke up in the morning, she told one of the other employees what had happened to her. She said the employee told her to have a bath and promised that she would help her to perform her duties as she was in no condition to function.

She said she was in a lot of pain and believes that she was beaten during the sexual assaults. She fell unconscious once again and was taken to the Mahdia Hospital, where she was admitted. She later reported the attacks to the police.

When Stabroek News spoke to her yesterday, she said that she is yet to hear from the police.