In wake of the the announcement that the 16-year-old girl who filed a rape complaint against Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall has asked the Police to no longer pursue the matter, the Guyana Human Rights Association has issued a call for there to be a safeguard system to protect and support victims of sexual violence and abuse.

According to the Human Rights watchdog, “the action and inaction of politicians at every step of the way in this matter have been deferential to the offender rather than the victim. Offender-deference dictated the choice of the Child Care & Protection Agency to ‘protect’ the child, effectively isolating her from the care, protection and legal support she required, while making her available and vulnerable to those seeking to change her mind”.

The GHRA said despite the unprecedented public revulsion over the incident, “Government leaders continue to see nothing in the pattern of Dharamlall’s behaviour that even merits a rebuke. This non-reaction has all the hallmarks of the suspect being in a position to embarrass others if action were taken against him.”

The GHRA raised questions about the work of the Police Force in probing the matter also, noting that in jurisdictions less complacent than Guyana about sexual assault, police acting professionally would have encouraged the victim not to give up.

“In this case there are grounds for suspecting political action was geared to the exact opposite. Efforts by the Guyana Police Force to defend its professionalism would be more convincing were they accompanied by a clear explanation of their involvement at every step of the way, particularly the actions of Region Two Police authorities”.

The Human Rights body is also of the view that public interest, coupled with the evidence already provided by the teenager, should trigger the need for the accusations to be placed before the Courts.

“Public interest considerations in not holding a trial usually turn on whether the victim would suffer greater harm from a trial. Public interest considerations in the Dharamlall case point heavily in support of the need for a trial: the imbalance in power, the indigenous background and age of the victim together with a prior record of publicized instances of public sexual harassment and humiliation of women all encourage this conclusion. Sexual assault cases involving young indigenous girls in Guyana are widespread, systematic and rarely prosecuted”, the GHRA noted.

According to the body, a professional policing approach to combatting the reality of a victim not wishing to press charges would be to point out that the support from the police remain still on offer, noting that “the offer can extend to clothes being stored and evidence kept in a freezer in case they change their mind. The contrasting sad reality in Guyana is that credibility of the engaged Agencies is so low, they are reduced to creating a demeaning video of her retraction.”

With a safeguard policy in place for victims of sexual violence, the GHRA believes those victims will be better prepared to tell their stories and remain confident in the system.

“Every governmental, business, sports, religious, NGO, social and educational institutions must conform to the policy or suffer automatic remedial action. The Government of Guyana’s credibility, particularly its female members, rests on whether they will support implementation of such a policy”, the GHRA said.

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