Karen de Souza
| Karen de Souza | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Karen Audrey de Souza January 19, 1958 Georgetown British Guiana |
| Nationality | Guyanese |
| Occupation | women's and children's activist |
| Years active | 1986-present |
| Known for | co-founder of Red Thread |
Karen de Souza (born 1958) is a Guyanese women and child's rights activist who has worked to advocate for victims, educate and provide support for victims of violence. Founder of the NGO Red Thread anti-violence campaigns, she has been involved in training programs of judicial officers and contributed to the drafting law to protect trafficking and anti-violence. Her advocacy has been recognized by both regional and international organizations.
Karen Audrey de Souza was born on 19 January 1958 in the capital city of British Guiana to Mary-Anne and Dennis Adrian de Souza, Her mother maintained the home and worked as needed as a seamstress or examination invigilator. Her father was a wharf supervisor. She identifies as Afro-Guyanese, though her heritage includes Amerindian, Chinese, Dutch, East Indian, Portuguese, and Scottish ancestry, as well. Much of her childhood was spent on Leguan Island. After completing her primary schooling in 1968, de Souza was awarded a scholarship to attend Bishops’ High School in Georgetown, graduating in 1974.
De Souza began her career in the offices of the Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, as a library assistant in 1974. The following year, she began working as a volunteer in the Guyana National Service (GNS), an organization which provided basic training and skills for unemployed youth. She learned electrical skills in the service and gave reading courses to illiterates. She pursued studies at the University of Guyana between 1976 and 1977 while continuing her employment in the library and became active in promoting the film, The Terror and the Time, a documentary on British colonialism. She distributed political flyers, which resulted in a reprimand from her employer. In 1979, after an investigation into whether Working People's Alliance members had involvement with a recent arson, her home was searched and she was charged with larceny for some material found concerning the GNS. De Souza had not previously been involved with the Alliance, but after her detainment, she joined the group, identified as a Marxist and became a political activist.
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