-Manickchand
Saying the reformed sexual offences law is a “done deal,” Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand on Friday called on groups campaigning for the swift implementation of the legislation to channel their efforts sensibly.
The Minister was referring to the Coalition to Stamp out Sexual Violence against Children though she made no direct references in a statement released on Friday. 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.”
Manickchand called the protests “strange” and “wholly uncalled for,” stating that matters raised by the group have been publicly determined by the government as requiring addressing. She said that the legislation has been drafted and is being reviewed and would be in the National Assembly soon, “but not before we are quite sure that we have balanced the desires and needs of the Guyanese people.”
The administration has demonstrated the will to change the laws, the minister said, adding that the necessary arrangements have also been made to capture and include the views of the populace.
She questioned the point of the protest, declaring that much needed legislation which concerns children had been laid in Parliament and passed, including the Protection of Children Bill. Further, she said that many programmes had been strengthened and new initiatives taken with a view to arresting some of the social problems.
Manickchand said that the government would welcome collaboration with the recently formed coalition and other groups to “stamp out sexual violence” saying that observations from previous legislation to address socio-criminal issues (such as domestic violence) would never be enough to change harmful attitudes.
The Coalition to Stamp Out Sexual Violence against Children picketed the Office of the President on Thursday for the second time this month, intensifying its campaign to have the laws changed. The coalition, comprising non-governmental organisations Red Thread and Help and Shelter, 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 said in a statement on Thursday.
