Dear Editor,
I’m writing about the troubling use of images of a minor in coverage of the recent truancy sweep conducted with the Childcare and Protection Agency and the Guyana Police Force.
Whatever the intent of the operation, a child protection agency should never be party to media content that can expose, stigmatise, or effectively “name-and-shame” children. The photographs published alongside the report show a uniformed student being questioned in a public space; even where a face is turned away, minors can still be identifiable by uniform, hairstyle, body shape, school paraphernalia, location and context—especially in a small country where “everybody knows everybody.”
This is not child protection. It is child exposure.
If the State wants better attendance, the approach must be supportive and confidential, not performative. Truancy is often a symptom, not the disease: transport costs, caregiving duties, learning difficulties, mental health stressors, bullying, or unstable home situations. Turning enforcement into content and public relations risks pushing children further away from school and away from services, because they learn quickly who will embarrass them publicly.
At minimum, the Childcare and Protection Agency should have strict protocols that: (1) prohibit photographing/filming minors during interventions; (2) require immediate safeguarding steps and family contact; and (3) ensure any public communication fully anonymises children (no faces, no uniforms, no identifying context) and focuses on services, not spectacle. Media houses should follow suit as a matter of basic ethics.
I urge Stabroek News to press the relevant authorities on what safeguards were in place, who authorised media access, and what changes will be implemented so children are protected—not put on display.