In a blistering assessment of the nation’s social safety net, veteran social worker, Nicole Cole has characterized Guyana’s child protection system as a “decaying” apparatus where political interference and professional “laxity” have left the most vulnerable at the mercy of predators. Her remarks, made to Guyana Standard, concur with a “Statement of Outrage” issued on March 5th, 2026, by the Rights of the Child Commission (RCC).
Cole, who sits on the RCC, did not mince words regarding the recent string of tragedies. For Cole, these are not isolated incidents of “societal rot,” but evidence of a system being kept broken by those presiding over it.
Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Millie Miguel, the 11-year-old who committed suicide after being sexually assaulted, Cole pointed to a recurring pattern of state negligence. It should be noted that Miguel committed suicide after the system failed her.
“I bring the focus back to Millie Miguel to say that here we are one year later and look at the evidence of not only a systemic failure but failure of persons within the system… You’ve got to have the requisite training and the compassion to act in a timely manner to prevent demise,” said Cole.
The RCC, chaired by Aleema Nasir, echoed this sentiment in a statement released on March 5th. The Commission expressed “profound concern and outrage” at a series of incidents that “point to a troubling environment of violence, vulnerability, and systemic failure.” The RCC highlighted several harrowing cases, the death of one teenage mother and the hospitalization of another after being stabbed multiple times, the “disturbing” public incident where two female officers from the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) allegedly dragged a secondary school student in uniform by her hands and hair. “Such conduct represents a serious violation of the dignity and rights of the child,” the RCC statement read, referring to the CPA officers. “Children are entitled to protection from all forms of physical and degrading treatment, especially by those entrusted with their care.”
Cole also made statements on aspects not highlighted in the release from RCC. She raised grave concerns about “partisan” protection, contrasting the state’s resources in high-profile cases against the lack of intervention for ordinary citizens. She specifically questioned why the Child Care Protection Agency (CCPA) failed to intervene in the case of a 14-year-old student, who later died of anemia and heart failure, despite a forensic interview having taken place.
“The minister says that she had a forensic interview. So why after the forensic interview, the Child Care Protection Agency failed to intervene” Cole asked. She suggested a darker motive for the discrepancy in state response: “Some of us will say that the state really intervened to get off the minister [in previous cases]… How are you being partisan when it comes to protecting children and respecting their rights?”
The most scathing portion of Cole’s critique was reserved for the leadership of the Ministry and the CCPA. She characterized the current state of affairs as “the emperor and his new clothes,” where officials are praised for “good things” but nothing is said about the “ugly” reality of child labor and sexual exploitation.
“If the system is still broken and you’ve been there, whose responsibility is this?” Cole challenged. “If she’s presiding over a broken system and she’s unable to fix it, then she should allow somebody else to be there. Pass the baton. It is okay to say it’s not okay. I can’t handle this anymore.”
Cole explicitly called for the firing of the current Director of the CCPA, citing a lack of professional accountability. “She should have been fired since the Millie Miguel case.
The recent video of state officers dragging a child was described by Cole as a shameful moment for her profession. She argued that such “fighting fire with fire” tactics prove that the system is “sick.”
“I have been a social worker practicing in Guyana for over two decades and I’ve never seen the system so sick to have that publicly happen. Never,” she said. “Now you’ve thrown the entire profession of social work under the bus… social workers are trained to intervene in maturing issues… even if a child is cursing, you’ve got to know how to let that child calm down.”
Cole concluded with a haunting warning for Guyanese parents, stating she cannot honestly tell a mother that Guyana is a safe space for children. “You’ve got to be scared, very, very fearful for your children in Guyana when you look at what is happening.”
