Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand has suggested a new measure aimed at identifying and prosecuting men who impregnate underage girls. Her suggestion was registered amid public outrage over a violent attack on a teenage mother in Berbice.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Manickchand said she was thinking through research with a view to legislative amendments that would trigger automatic law enforcement action when a child becomes pregnant or delivers a baby.
Her proposal suggests that if a minor is found to be pregnant or gives birth, police would arrest all adult males in the home, collect DNA samples and, if evidence shows the baby is the product of sexual abuse by any such male occupant, lay charges and deny pre-trial bail pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
“On the eve of International Women’s Day, we have to make sure our girls grow to become women with lives they can celebrate and anyone who gets in the way of that is an enemy to humanity,” Manickchand wrote, inviting public discussion.
The proposal comes after a 15-year-old teenage mother from Berbice was stabbed multiple times by the 28-year-old father of her child and remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, according to media reports. The incident has sparked widespread concern about the safety of children and the prevalence of sexual abuse.
Under Guyana’s laws, sexual activity with a minor is a criminal offence, regardless of consent.
Manickchand did not outline specific draft legislation but indicated that the idea would be subject to research.
