Three stories about the rape of children disturbed me recently. In one instance, it was reported that a 21-year-old man was remanded for the rape of a 12-year-old girl. His defenders claimed that he is quiet and honest, hardworking, and intelligent. He deserves a second chance, they said, while also making clear that they knew the rape of underage children was wrong. The underage child deserves to be spared the sentence of a possible life of misery if she is not helped through interventions like counselling.
In another case, it was alleged that a teenager was raped by a man in his forties. Some of the defenders of this accused said that she wanted it. They said that there was an affair. The police are accused of tactlessly questioning the victim in the presence of the alleged rapist. Why does this happen in Guyana? When the police are more suspicious of the raped than the rapist, it reinforces what a depraved society we exist in and that officers need ongoing training and to be more compassionate. A few days after the alleged rape, the teenager died by suicide.
