“The emerging details of the alleged rape of a sixteen-year-old girl by a Government Minister is an alarming and very serious allegation.” So said the Guyana branch of the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) in a release. Recently information came to the public’s attention of the alleged rape and sodomy of a minor by Nigel Dharamlall, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development.
CAFRA Guyana is calling on the Government to act swiftly in this matter and to launch an independent, transparent and impartial investigation into the matter. According to the feministist organisation new allegations of rape, which have emerged, are even more alarming. The group is also calling on the Government to provide survivors of sexual violence with immediate access to justice, healthcare and support services, as well as effective and holistic reparations that are proportional to the gravity of the harm suffered.
“We are very concerned about the amount of time that has elapsed since the first victim came forward, and even moreso, that the alleged perpetrator remained in active duty until he decided to request administrative leave. This situation, the organisation said, is unacceptable and sends a wrong message about access to justice for women who are victims of sexual assault in Guyana.”
Quite often, CAFRA said, women and girls are scared to report cases of sexual assault and we also take this opportunity to encourage all victims of sexual violence to come forward, so that the perpetrators of such horrific crimes can be brought to justice and to face the full extent of the penalty for such crimes.”
And whilst condemning, in the strongest possible terms, all actions of rape against women in Guyana, CAFRA said the organisation would also like to remind the Government that there will be no meaningful progress on the Millennium Development Goals, unless they address the structural human rights issues such as the right to be free from all forms of gender-based violence.
