Cries from the heart

Dr Gabrielle Jamela Hosein

PERHAPS YOU have missed the cri de coeur in Guyana over the case of an adolescent, indigenous Guyanese girl who was allegedly groomed and raped by a (now resigned) government minister, Nigel Dharamlall.

The allegation, following other allegations of his sexual violence and misconduct, and additionally following reports of multiple instances of mishandling of the girls’ case by state agencies and police, galvanised women’s, human rights and indigenous organisations to initiate a petition at the beginning of July.

The petition stated, “We are fearful that these allegations will not be fully investigated, and that the indigenous child will be left to bear the trauma of not only the alleged vicious assault on her body, but also that of the brutal handling of this case by Guyana’s criminal justice system.” Demands included an impartial investigation into every step in the investigation as well as provision of professional mental healthcare for the girl and her family.

Following the initial report to NGOs and to the police, the teenage victim reportedly made a "no further action" statement and a later video which media report as withdrawing her original allegation.

These seem to have closed the case despite media also reporting examples of how the victim was discouraged from continuing to seek justice, from being isolated by the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) (including from lawyers), taken by police to Dharamlall’s house while he was there to affirm details of the case (both violating the Sexual Offences Act and reviolating the victim), and allegedly offered a monetary settlement.

At this point, there is unwillingness by the DPP to proceed in the public interest after the victim’s reported withdrawal.

The Guyanese press is full of public furore with the Guyana Human Rights Association stating that “the withdrawal of rape allegations by the complainant against Minister Dharamlall was clearly the end result intended from the outset by his political defenders.”

As a Stabroek News editorial on July 24, stated, “the authorities will not be able to explain why if no offence occurred, the complainant willingly remained under the care of the CPA for weeks, gave an affirming statement to the police, visited the premises of Mr Dharamlall as part of the police investigation of a rape complaint and then suddenly settled for a 'no further action’ statement which had to have been suggested to her by someone within the CPA or the police force.”

This case follows the recent deaths of 20 indigenous school children in a Mahdia dormitory fire, and reawakened consciousness of the vulnerability of indigenous children to forms of abuse, including sexual exploitation. This is especially true for indigenous girls.

The case presents much for us to contemplate across a region where political power has often protected those who commit sexual crimes against girls and women.

Most infamous are multiple women’s allegations of sexual assault and harassment against St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. Each of those cases was discontinued for various reasons, but newspaper reports (and released WikiLeaks files) allege pressures to drop charges. Gonsalves himself has remained in power and true to form in his sexist comments at the recent regional crime symposium held in Port of Spain where he blamed “beautiful young women who are high-maintenance” for criminals having to “rob and steal and kill and deal in drugs in order to maintain them.”

At home, Darryl Smith was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour during his tenure as sports minister. A settlement in the Industrial Court included a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and a committee was formed to investigate what occurred. As reported in the Newsday on October 31, 2019, the committee found that “it appears to us that there was a concerted effort to sanitise the matter of any reference to the allegations of sexual harassment and to treat the matter as an orthodox claim of unfair dismissal.”

The NDA was considered unjustified if the issue was just his interfering with dismissal protocol. Newsday reported that the Office of the Prime Minister itself was concerned that the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs tried to cover up the allegations “from beginning to end.”

Last week, Smith was appointed a commercial officer for the Trade Ministry and will be based in the US as a national representative.

In these and other instances in our region, the result is an example of the way that impunity pervades power and process, resulting in isolation, silence and injustice as too-familiar outcomes for girls and women. Cries from the heart, but who hears?

Diary of a mothering worker

Entry 511

motheringworker@gmail.com