"Due process", "course of the law" and child protection after Bishops..

People have told me I that I sexually abused children. People have told me that I have defended child abusers and that I have otherwise endangered the lives of children (especially in the LGBT advocacy work). Accusations come and there are no follow up investigations and they die away.

One organisation , Help & Shelter with which I has involved, has a child protection policy. The policy is clear that any person associated with Help & Shelter and who is accused of harming children has to  step aside and allow an investigation which has to be concluded within five days. All persons who work with Help & Shelter are supposed to sign on and agree to this. It is clear also that not all investigations will conclude in court cases.

Due process. course of the law
People have faith that the justice system will provide justice for survivors of sexual violence.  The justice system, in Guyana, and elsewhere, most times does not provide justice, nor healing. Cases take a long time, and conviction rates are low.

In 2015, there was a news report, that a Guyana born teacher in the USA,  Annan Boodram had disciplined for making remarks about his students' breasts.  The Board of Education did not fire him, but removed him from the classroom . It was a strange kind of resolution. In 2008, he had been commended for his work in teaching. 

Annan Boodram is President of The Caribbean Voice in Guyana. I have encouraged the TCV in Guyana to develop its child protection policy. I have not heard of any move in that direction and as far as I know TCV continues to do its work which sometimes involves young people and children.

An American news report recently said many teachers who were "cited" for abuse were not always banned from the class room. In the news report, a child protection advocate said that "“This system is not designed to protect children. End of discussion,”  .

About 15 years ago, a colleague and I were involved in an investigation of child sexual abuse against a teacher. We took on the assignment at the request of well meaning officials who had no other recourse at the time (before the CPA or other agencies or laws existed) . We talked to students, teachers and others ,and could find no evidence of the teacher's misconduct.

We admitted our results. We made a mistake in that the focus was on children in school, and not in the community. About 8 years later, the teacher was subsequently charged with assaulting a vulnerable child from the community. He escaped from Guyana.



So how do we protect children then, while the alleged abusers go through the trials?

 There are no policies in place in Guyana to deal with reports against teachers.

Ruel Johnson  has written about the problems he endured in trying to report Coen Jackson, and the steps he took before going public.

Many people have written about waiting on the law and due process and so. They do not state whether , while waiting, if Jackson or any other teacher who is accused of molestering children, should be in contact with children.

Collateral damage and fall out

In 2009, there were allegations of child sexual abuse made against Kwame McKoy. He had been appointed by his PPP comrade, Priya Manickchand, the then Minister of Human Services to the Rights of the Child Commissoin. National Assembly never moved to do the necessary investigations into the allegations against the then Minister Priya Manickchand's comrade and nominee to the Rights of the Child Commission. There was a huge circus at the time. No charges were ever laid. Mc

Ruel Johnson had written in 2014 about Priya Manichand's 'hypocrisy in not dealing will abuse allegations of abuse made against her party comrades. Ruel Johnson included Priya Manickchand's name in the list of people who could investigate sexual abuse in the schools. 

My name is also on the list. I wondered if he was making a cynical mockery of the whole system which failed him, and which Priya Manickchand would have failed to improve during her time in power.  I wonder if he was making a cynical mockery in singling out 'sexual predation' rather than addressing the whole spectrum of violence and abuse which nurtures sexual abuse as well.

The report was made though, in this bizarre context. The children from the school have reported citizens telling them they are either abusers or victims of abusers.

There should be no need after this, to make any other report of abuse, in a way which causes harm to other children.

There is no evidence from the Ministers who received the report, of what changes will be made to take other reports seriously.

The learning is ongoing. We live in a country in which the PPP and the PNC have fielded candidates for elections who have unresolved allegations of child sexual abuse. The feeble outrage makes no difference as the citizens voted for them.

The goal of any reporting is to put the needs of survivors first, and to also work on protection of other children. Many abusers have not gone to jail as survivors have not bothered with the time, have wanted to move on, or  have accepted settlements. The justice system , due process and so on, relies on the survivors to make the case, and that burden is not an easy one.

Meanwhile though, schools, the society has to decide how to ensure that children are protected. There is no sense in Guyana, that it is possible to say to students, parents and colleagues 'We have received complaints of inappropriate conduct made against a teacher. The teacher has proceeded on leave and all assignemnts etc will be handled by a replacement. We should conclude investigations within xyz period of time' .   Adults whose primary livelihood includes legitimate contact with children have to be compensated while matters are resolved and investigations should conclude in a timely fashion.

The American news report said that some case files are still open after 5 years.

Child protection while beating children
The first time I met Coen Jackson, he defended the beating of children as a form of discipline.  The Guyana Teachers  Union also wants to keep beating children, so I can understand their obsession with due process and hoping that failed systems will work to create safe environments for students and teachers.

The Ministry of Education never pronounced on its refusal to listen Ruel Johnson's initial reports.  The fact that a senior Government functionary could not get access to people to take the reports seriously is a serious indictment of the systems in place

There seemed to be confusion too over the role of the Teaching Service Commission and the School Board in dealing with this matter.  Headteachers and staff members , students and parents have to be clear about appropriate behaviour and what to do when the behaviour is inappropriate. Beating children is not appropriate.

 Due process though, and course of the law, should not provide opportunities for any abuser to endanger other children.