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BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC -The Office of the Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children is calling for the establishment of a national sex offenders registry, amid concerns that children continue to face abuse, exploitation and violence.
The Special Envoy’s Office, which is an advocacy body that lobbies for social policy reforms, secures funding for government initiatives, and implements public awareness programmes, said that the identities of convicted sexual offenders should not remain hidden pointing to growing public concern over allegations involving individuals in positions of authority, including educators and police officers.
The latest incident involves a 41-year-old educator, who has since been charged with four counts of assault and two counts of rape after a student’s report.
The Ministry of Human Development says it supports the call by the Special Envoy’s Office , noting also that newly approved amendments to the Criminal Code are set to change the courtroom experience, especially for children, by allowing sensitive testimony to happen behind closed doors.
Chief executive officer in the Ministry of Human Development, Adele Catzim Sanchez says the changes are about more than procedure and are intended to give victims the confidence and support they need to come forward and be heard.
“The sex offenders registry is of convicted sex offenders, right? And not just those who are arrested or alleged to be offenders. One of the things that happens in court proceedings is that sometimes the children get re-traumatized or re-victimized by having their privacy and all the issues that they face being exposed to the general public,” said Sanchez.
She said that the ministry has an obligation to protect the privacy of these children while at the same time ensuring that they get justice for the crimes perpetrated against them.
“And so in order to try to increase the rate of not just reporting sex offenses against children, but also taking the cases through the court system to enable justice, we feel that a key aspect of that is making sure that these cases are held in camera so that the children can be more comfortable giving their testimony in their cases.
“So our ministry’s been happy that we have the support of cabinet, and we have the support of the Attorney General’s Ministry to make sure that this amendment goes through. It will be tabled in Parliament in June, and it will go through the parliamentary process,” she added.
