At the end of July this year, the Guyana Police Force had recorded 243 reports of rape. January to July accounts for 212 days, so from a statistical point of view that’s more than one reported rape a day. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum was reported as saying that the increase in the number of reports—there were 145 for the same period last year—pointed to public confidence in the divisional units the police have set up to deal with sex crimes. He also indicated that in the majority of reported cases the virtual complainants were underage girls.
While Mr Blanhum’s remarks are probably meant to be reassuring, it is unlikely that citizens—particularly the mothers of underage girls—can derive any comfort from them. It is very well known that in Guyana there is a huge gap between reported rapes and actual rapes. There is nothing to suggest that anything has changed in this regard. Given the data desert that this country is, there would need to be physical evidence—like a marked drop in the number of underage girls who are victims of trafficking in persons, or girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who are having babies—and an end to the silence in communities where these things occur.
Therefore, unfortunately, the police figures most likely mean that there has been an increase in the incidence of rape.
Referencing child rape, Mr Blanhum also stated quite firmly that the police will take action against adult men found to be engaging in sexual activity with minor girls—those under 16 years old—as this constitutes statutory rape. It must be noted here though that neither the accepting of reports nor the making of arrests is enough. Conformity in procedures in the obtaining and preserving of evidence is also crucial. The work of the police does not end until a solid case, immune to cracks, has been built; one that would make conviction a given.
It is certainly good to know that the police force has divisional units dedicated to sex crimes. This is a giant step in the right direction. It would be even more encouraging if the public could be assured that these units have adequately trained officers on duty at all times and that rape kits are always readily available. The faux pas with the breathalyzer kits is not so recent that it could be forgotten.
Then too, one needs to take a look at what passes for justice in rape cases. In March this year, a 36-year-old man who had pleaded guilty to raping a 10-year-old girl was sentenced to just 10 years imprisonment. According to reports, Justice Brassington Reynolds before whom the case was to be tried had stated that the reduced sentence was largely due to that fact that the convict had pleaded guilty and not wasted the court’s time. Perhaps such justification can be made in a case of say, armed robbery, but rape? And of a 10-year-old? Such a sentence can surely be seen to be inappropriate.
One would wish that the March case was an anomaly, but no. Earlier this month, a 40-year-old man who was found guilty of raping an 11-year-old girl after a trial was sentenced to just eight years imprisonment. Nor was it the same judge. In this instance Justice Dawn Gregory had actually deferred sentencing to facilitate a probation report. However, when none was forthcoming at the end of the adjournment—the probation officers requested more time as they were unable to complete the report—Justice Gregory handed down the eight-year sentence. One shudders to think what the sentence might have been had the probation officers presented a report that showed the convict in a favourable light. Again, as was the case in March, this judge took a number of mitigating factors into account, including the age of the convict and that of the complainant at the time the offence was committed, which was two years ago.
And although the judge made the right noises, noting that the convict had exerted “advantage” and “power” over the child, the sentence did not reflect that the trauma the now 13-year-old girl would have suffered was truly understood.
Jurists often declare that justice must be tempered with mercy, a bit of a cliché though it is indeed a great sentiment. However, sentences should also act as deterrents, particularly in crimes as heinous as child rape. As long as the police have done solid investigations and the case is proven, there should be hefty sentences, especially when the convict is an adult who clearly knows the difference between right and wrong and who has, in the commission of the crime, shown absolutely no mercy to the defenceless child involved.
There is a ton of work to be done to truly address rape. The successful prosecution of even half of the 243 cases reported would offer citizens hope and may cause rapists and potential rapists to think twice.
