The sex-offender registry promised by Government since 2011 will not come on stream this year. Minister of Gender Youth and Child Development Clifton de Coteau said a bill had been drafted and a report is before the Legislative Review Committee. He promised that it wouldbe brought to Parliament before year end. He did not say why the registry was taking so long to set up. In 2011, former Minister of the People and Social Development Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said announced plans for an online sex offender registry as part of an aggressive plan to protect minors. The Children’s Authority was mandated to set up the registry. Ramadharsingh was unavailable for comment and Minister of National Security Gary Griffith said he wanted to investigate the matter before commenting.
Child rights activist and head of the Child Protection Task Force (CPTF) Diana Mahabir-Wyatt said the registry should be higher on the agenda of the Legislative Review Committee. She said while the CPTF was working on legislation for the protection of children, the registry had been forgotten. “I must confess and I am ashamed that I had forgotten the registry when the Child Task Force was working so hard at other legislation. Its been so long since we debated that issue. We were wrong and we should have included that as part of the Children’s Act. We will have to start lobbying for that registry now,” Mahabir-Wyatt told the T&T Guardian.
She said it was sad the registry was taking so long to be set up, noting: “Since 2011, so many children have been either abused or murdered by people we did not know were capable of that. What the offenders register does is help protect children from these repeat offenders so that the Children’s Authority will know these offenders and they will not be put in schools or hospitals to work with children.” Mahabir-Wyatt said the Children’s Authority Act is due to be proclaimed before the end of this month. “We are hoping the President will proclaim the act so that we can offer better protection to our children,” she said.
Criminologist calls for action
Criminologist and principal of the Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety Ian Ramdhanie said sex crimes against children should be given high priority by the relevant authorities.
“It is an area that should not be allowed to lag behind. Consideration should be given to have these registries available to the public and also online as is done in many jurisdictions.” Ramdhanie said bureaucracy may be holding back the process. “It usually takes some time from an announcement to policy, legislation, procedures, facilities, staffing, training, etc. Sometimes, these things take a considerable amount of time that may be unacceptable to the public who rightful“It is a herculean task to get done, but it must tackled with utmost urgency so that there can be some drastic reductions in these types of crimes,” he said.
He also recommended that a comprehensive independent study be done to ascertain the prevalence of sex crimes. “There is a big difference between reported crimes and actual crimes which take place. The two don’t necessarily match.” Ramdhanie said psychologists, counsellors, police officers, medical doctors, school officials, parents and siblings must play a role in resolving tragic experiences. “Interventions need to take place for the victims, offenders and their friends and families, who are all affected by these crimes. “Don’t feel it is only the victim—he/she probably suffers the most, but there are hosts of others who are directly negatively affected and need healing,” Ramdhanie said.
To minimise offences, he called a massive education campaign in the short term. “The relevant ministries like education, national security, youth, gender, etc, as well as the Children’s Authority, need to dive straight into the school system and implement the necessary campaigns. These should inform children—from pre-school to primary to secondary and even post-secondary and tertiary—about how they should prevent themselves from being victims of sexual crimes. “They should be taught the ways sexual predators make their advances, to be on the constant lookout for them, to know what to do when they are faced with a potential sex offender, who to go to, where, emergency numbers, etc,” Ramdhanie said.
He suggested that social networking sites be used to educate children. In the medium to long term, Ramdhanie said, there should be a more strategic approach to get the legislation in place. “Police youth clubs, community groups, religious youth groups, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations—all can get on board a national plan to reach their membership,” he added.
Children’s Authority Responds
A senior source at the Children’s Authority said the sex offender registry will be overseen by the Ministry of National Security. The Children’s Authority was established to champion the wellbeing of all children, to safeguard them from abuse and neglect, to provide care and protection for those who are at-risk and vulnerable and to restore childhood. Anyone wanting to report a crime against children can call Childline at 800-4321, National Family Services at 627-1163 or Child Guidance clinic 726-1324.