A 15-year-old girl who says she fled years of sexual abuse by her stepfather has twice run away—first from her family home and later from a state-run child care facility—raising questions about the handling of abuse complaints and the support provided to vulnerable children.
The teenager has accused her stepfather of abusing her since she was 11 years old. She has also alleged that her mother was aware of the abuse but failed to intervene.
Her allegations surfaced publicly after videos recorded by a friend were circulated on social media in which the teenager recounted years of abuse and pleaded for help. She also spoke about telling the police why she ran away and felt it was not taken seriously.
The case drew further attention after APNU parliamentarians Dr Dexter Todd and Coretta McDonald criticised the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA) over its handling of the matter following a visit to the girl’s family. The CPA does not respond to media requests for information on these matters.
An indigenous human rights activist who became involved after being contacted by a non-governmental organization (NGO) provided a more detailed picture of the events leading to the teenager’s second disappearance and her continuing fear of returning to either her family or state care.
The activist, who requested anonymity because of concerns that identifying them could discourage vulnerable persons from seeking help, said they were first contacted after receiving a video message from an unknown social media account.
Initially believing it to be spam, the activist ignored it until seeing people tagging them in another video the following day.
“I listened to it in its entirety,” the activist said. “The people who contacted me said the girl was scared. She didn’t trust anybody, but she wanted justice.”
The activist said arrangements were made to meet the teenager in a confidential location along with an NGO representative.
Fear
According to the activist, the teenager repeatedly expressed fear of returning to the Child Care and Protection Agency’s residential facility, where she had spent approximately three weeks after police initially found her following her first escape from home.
“She said she didn’t want to go back because nothing was happening,” the activist recalled. “She felt nobody was telling her anything and she didn’t know how long she would remain there.”
According to the account given to Kiskadee Watch, after running away from home the teenager stayed with friends before eventually surrendering to police at an outpost.
The activist said the girl stated that police contacted her mother and instructed her to collect the child before proceeding to a Police Station on the East Bank.
Instead of travelling directly there, however, the family allegedly stopped at home, where the teenager said she was left alone with the man she accuses of abusing her.
When they eventually arrived at the police station, she said there was no social worker immediately available to deal with her case before she was transferred to state care.
Most troubling
One of the most troubling aspects of the case, according to the activist, concerns the timeline of the investigation.
The activist said the teenager reported that although she gave a forensic interview shortly after entering state care, she was never asked to sign a statement until after she had run away from the facility weeks later.
“Only today she signed the statement,” the activist said during the interview. “Imagine after how many weeks.”
The activist questioned why the delay occurred and said the teenager told them she had never received updates on the progress of the investigation.
The teenager also said that no comprehensive medical examination relating to the sexual abuse allegations had been conducted during her initial stay in state care.
According to the activist, only after the child resurfaced following her second disappearance did authorities indicate that additional medical examinations would now be carried out.
The teenager also disputed public claims about how she left the child care facility.
According to the activist, she denied reports that she disappeared while being taken to purchase items.
Instead, the activist said, the girl stated that she escaped by climbing over the facility’s fence.
“She said, ‘I jumped the fence,'” the activist recounted.
The teenager reportedly described feeling isolated at the facility and said she feared her mother and stepfather would visit her there.
According to the activist, after escaping she contacted a trusted friend, who helped conceal her whereabouts before recording the videos that later circulated online.
The activist said attempts were made to identify relatives willing to care for the child instead of having her returned to state custody. A female pastor also reportedly offered temporary accommodation.
However, the CPA informed those assisting the child that further assessments of the proposed placement, along with medical examinations, would first have to be completed before she could be released into alternative care.
As a result, the teenager was returned to state custody.
“She cried and begged not to go back,” the activist said.
Intimidation
The activist also said that people who have tried to assist the teenager have faced intimidation.
According to the activist, the girl’s stepfather has accused others of harbouring her.
The activist further alleged that the man’s actions have left those assisting the teenager fearful of being publicly identified.
The activist said the case highlights broader concerns about the accessibility and responsiveness of Guyana’s child protection system.
“The justice system really needs to be a lot more accessible and a lot more responsive,” the activist said.
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