Support is fast growing in some circles for more stringent provisions in the Sexual Offences Act, particularly following the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl last week, which left many outraged and others saddened.
A 32-year-old man has since been arraigned in connection with the crime. Andrew Bridgewater was charged last Monday with forcible detention and unlawful sexual intercourse. He is on remand at Her Majestyﾒs Prison.
Since then, President of Bahamian Fathers for Children Everywhere, Clever Duncombe, has called for stiffer penalties for offenders of children.
But that push has not been in isolation.
The Bahamas Democratic Movement is also demanding the introduction of a programme to track sexual offenders. The party said this would require all sexual predators to be registered before they are released from prison.
The BDM has also proposed that a sexual offenders division be established within the Ministry of Social Services.
The division would be required to maintain a file on individuals who have committed sexual crimes, a recommendation persons like Gil Maycock, chairman of the National Child Protection Council and assistant pastor at Abundant Life Chapel supports.
Pastor Maycock said he is not one of the persons who would simply be willing to work with the perpetrator.
“I believe all persons who have been convicted of child abuse against our children need to be identified as small as The Bahamas is. We need to keep a database,” he said.
“Even though there might be some repercussions ﾖ in terms of these persons being known ﾖ I am more concerned about the children of the nation. There is evidence to support that these persons may have been abused themselves, and I do appreciate that they may need help, but at the same time, if there is a small chance that they will repeat what has been done to them, we need to protect our childrenﾅIf a child is abused, there is no way someone could tell me they are sorry.
“We are very trusting people here in The Bahamas. So we need to know. We need to stop paying so much attention to the perpetrator.”
There is also however the argument that introducing a tracking system and database would potentially make it dangerous for perpetrators because of vigilantism.
A U.S. report indicated that up to July 2005, there were more than half a million registered sex offenders in that country ﾖ convicted of a crime involving sexual abuse, released from incarceration, and required to report their whereabouts, in some cases for the rest of their lives.
Several town meetings have been held on the issue in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Exuma.
According to Pastor Maycock, similar meetings are scheduled for the Family Islands. Officials feel this may be one of the reasons why an increasing number of child abuse cases are being reported.
Statistics show that last year, 522 cases of abuse ﾖ verbal, physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and abandonment and incest ﾖ were reported.
That figure has remained the same over the years.
While Chief Superintendent Marvin Dames said he believes that anything that would help is worth considering, he also stressed the importance of the community playing its role in bringing awareness to the issue.
“There are numerous examples in which people are seen with certain persons within the community who are known offenders. We have also noticed that many of our young people are coming into danger because of neglect and it is so sad sometimes that it is not until after something happens that attention is placed on such a critical issue. I always go back to the community,” Mr. Dames said.
“At the end of the day, all of us have a vested responsibility of ensuring that our kids are not abused, which first starts in the home and so it is all well and good if these (proposals) are going to have the effect that we anticipate, but we should not abdicate our responsibilityﾅWe need to build on strengthening families.”
Under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, any person who suspects that a child is being abused or has knowledge of the same and does not report it can be punished.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
