Dear Editor,
In law, when something is so blatantly obvious, they say “the thing speaks for itself”. This flips the burden of proof. Normally the plaintiff must prove his case. But this concept places the burden on the defendant who must prove his innocence.
For example, let’s say my left foot is badly crushed in an accident and I go to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) to have it amputated. But when I wake up my good right foot has been amputated, and my crushed left foot is still there. In that situation, I do not have to make my case, the burden is on GPHC to defend itself.
Similarly, we contend that our chart comparing our Caribbean Adolescent Fertility Rates (AFR) with those of our former colonizers’ rates is so compelling that it speaks for itself. The burden is therefore on Caribbean Governments, and especially the Government of Guyana, to justify their persistence with criminalization and punishment when all the evidence contradicts that approach.
Therefore, we who advocate for adolescents to have access to information, sex education and contraceptives without parental consent, believe we should not have to make that case. The facts make our case. The burden must be on the government to defend its current and yet archaic legal stance.
On average our Caribbean adolescent fertility rate (AFR) is 35.5, while our colonizers’ is 5.2. We rely on severely restrictive laws and demand ever more severe punishments. They allow legal access and invest in sex education. This approach is not alien to the Caribbean: Bermuda and The Bahamas have adopted this style. So too have Martinique, Aruba, and Guadeloupe. Look at the chart! And look at Guyana’s AFR! We escape being the worst by only 0.1
Seven countries in the region have reduced their Age of Civil Responsibility from 18 to 16 for sexual and reproductive health. These are Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos Islands. This is a helpful but feeble response. It merely avoids the legal absurdity of allowing legal sex at 16 but not permitting autonomous access to contraceptives until 18. But it falls woefully short of addressing the social reality where 29% of 15-years-olds report being sexually active.
Guyana is well aware of the nonsense of artificial age barriers. We are the only country in the region that permits a child of any age access to HIV testing without parental consent. That is sensible. That policy is in the best interest of the child and the community. Why not do the same for access to sex information and contraceptives? And then reinforce this legal provision by meaningful strengthening of HFLE in schools.