A gap has been identified between official government data on child welfare, as quoted by the Minister of Human Services, and the raw data.
During Budget Debates 2026, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Vindyha Persaud told the National Assembly that statistics from the last four years reflect a “consistent reduction” in child abuse cases, claiming figures have dropped from over 4,000 to just over 3,000. However, a review of records from the Ministry of Human Services website and Blossom Inc.’s website suggests a different reality particularly concerning the volume of forensic interviews conducted.
Blossom Inc and ChildLink are two non-governmental organizations working with the government for child welfare. The two carry out forensic interviews with victims of child abuse. ChildLinK operates in regions 3, 4 (East Coast and Central Georgetown), 5, 6, 8, and 9, while Blossom Inc. covers regions 1, 2, 4 (East Bank), 7, and 10.
The figures presented in this article do not include data from ChildLinK as that organization’s data is not readily available on its website, and efforts made to contact CPA’s M&E’s officer for the data proved futile.
While the Minister cited a downward trend in general case numbers, the data for forensic interviews, a step in investigating reported abuse, show an incline between 2020 and 2025. In 2020, the total number of interviews stood at 396. By 2025, that figure reached 732, representing an 84.8% increase in the use of specialized investigative resources over five years.
According to the reports found on Blossom’s website, the number of girls requiring forensic interviews has nearly doubled in the last five years. In 2020, 356 girls were interviewed; by 2024, that number rose to 572, peaking at 677 in 2025. The data for boys shows a similar, albeit smaller-scale, trajectory. Interviews for boys rose from 40 in 2020 to 55 in 2025.
The following table outlines the recorded forensic interviews for minors over the period specified:
| Year | Girls | Boys | Total Forensic Interviews |
| 2020 | 356 | 40 | 396 |
| 2021 | 633 | 40 | 673 |
| 2022 | 674 | 47 | 721 |
| 2023 | 558 | 57 | 615 |
| 2024 | 572 | 60 | 632 |
| 2025 | 677 | 55 | 732 |
The discrepancy raises urgent questions for child welfare advocates. If “cases” are declining as the Minister suggests, it remains unclear why the demand for specialized forensic interviews, usually reserved for serious allegations, is reaching record highs.
The peak of 732 forensic interviews in 2025 marks the highest investigative workload recorded in this five-year window, directly challenging the narrative of a “consistent reduction” in the crisis.
To analyze the volatility and trends in child abuse investigations, the table below calculates the Year-Over-Year (YoY) percentage change in forensic interviews from 2020 to 2025. This metric reveals the intensity of the investigative workload compared to the previous year.
Year-Over-Year (YoY) Growth in Forensic Interviews
| Period | Girls (% Change) | Boys (% Change) | Total (% Change) |
| 2020 to 2021 | +77.81% | 0.00% | +69.95% |
| 2021 to 2022 | +6.48% | +17.50% | +7.13% |
| 2022 to 2023 | -17.21% | +21.28% | -14.70% |
| 2023 to 2024 | +2.51% | +5.26% | +2.76% |
| 2024 to 2025 | +18.36% | -8.33% | +15.82% |
| Cumulative (2020–2025) | +90.17% | +37.50% | +84.85% |
Per Capita Implications
According to the latest census findings, Guyana’s population has reached approximately 956,044 as of the end of 2024, with a projected baseline of roughly 960,000 for 2025. The census confirms that the youth demographic (ages 0–14) comprises 28.9% of the population.
Using the 2025 population metrics, we can calculate the “investigative density” of child abuse in Guyana:
- Total Estimated Population (2025): 960,000
- Estimated Child Population (Under 15): ~277,440 (28.9% of total)
- Total Forensic Interviews (2025): 732
| Metric | Calculation | Result |
| National Prevalence | 732 interviews / 960,000 people | 76.2 per 100,000 residents |
| Youth-Specific Rate | 732 interviews / 277,440 children | 2.64 per 1,000 children |
While the Minister claims a reduction in general “cases” to 3,000 (which would be roughly 10.8 per 1,000 children), the forensic interview rate of 2.64 per 1,000 children represents the most severe subset of those reports.
The data shows that for every 1,000 children in Guyana, nearly 3 are now undergoing high-stakes forensic medical or psychological interviews annually. This per capita rate has nearly doubled since 2020, even as the total population grew.
The census reports a nearly equal sex ratio (101 males, per 100 females). However, the forensic data shows a per capita imbalance:
- Girls: Roughly 8 per 1,000 female children underwent forensic interviews in 2025.
- Boys: Roughly 4 per 1,000 male children underwent forensic interviews in 2025.
A girl in Guyana is currently 12 times more likely to be the subject of a forensic abuse investigation than a boy.
The Bureau of Statistics highlights that Guyana is experiencing its highest growth rate since WWII, driven by migration and a “stationary” (stable) youth birth rate. If the child population is stable or growing slightly, but forensic interviews are increasing by 15.8% annually (as seen in 2025), the rate of serious abuse is outpacing the rate of population growth. With the average household size shrinking to 3.23 persons, there are more individual households for protective services to monitor, yet the number of high-intensity investigations is concentrating at a rate that suggests a growing public health crisis rather than a “consistent reduction.”
Data taken from “End of Year Information 2024” on the Ministry of Human Resources website
