Rights Activist and Leader of the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), Simona Broomes, today said the public abuse and humiliation of a school girl by two welfare officers is reflective of the dire state of childcare services in Guyana.

Broomes said the evidence is damning, as she pointed to August 2025 when 21 girls escaped from the Mahaica Girl’s Home, and the many who escaped from the Juvenile Holding Centre in Sophia because of the conditions under which they were being kept.

Broomes – a former Minister under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) – said while the Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, has launched an investigation into the incident involving the school girl, an in-depth investigation is needed into the child care institutions from the Childcare Protection Agency (CPA) right down to the Children’s homes.

According to her, there are reports of food shortages within the homes and a host of allegations from abuse to ill treatment.

“Now, how will we have children, some of them facing abuse by family, by relatives, by persons, and you take these children from their parents, they are not able to see their children, and then they are being ill treated by the state. How can the state manage itself?” Broomes told News Source.

The ALP Leader suggested that the Government through the Ministry of Human Services partners with civil society to ensure the proper functioning of these facilities.

“But what we find happening for decades is that the State is lord unto itself. So when a child suffers in state care, you suffer already out there, they are made to be silent. This is oppression. What are we dealing? Are we dealing with trafficked children? Are we dealing with criminals? Are these state care [institutions] now managed as if they are baby prisons for children who are really looking forward for support? It hurts! So, we are out here not because a child was dragged through but several children,” the ALP Leader said.

Today, Ms. Broomes and a number of ALP members and supporters picketed outside of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is hosting a Women’s Day event.

ALP Member Oscar Jacobis said International Women’s Day is being observed at a time when women and girls continue to be victims of gender-based violence, with not enough done by the authorities to protect women and girls.

“We have a culture here in Guyana where we like to mimic other countries with their cultures but yet we are not mimicking the right things, and the bold and innovative steps that other countries are taking in order to protect our women and children. In Italy, The Constitution clearly defines what is femicide and the punishment for that, China has also advanced its laws; countries around the world are taking a bold step against Gender-based violence, violence against women and girls,” he said.

The ALP Member also said while the Family Violence Act was passed in 2024, enforcement remains key to its effectiveness.

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