CRAWFORD… the issue is not that we don’t have laws—
| BY CANDICE HAUGHTON— Staff reporter— |
Director of Eve for Life, Joy Crawford, is demanding that the Government makes the sex offenders registry open to the public.
Crawford was speaking at a sexual abuse and child trafficking seminar on Friday, initiated by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. She represents an organization that is dedicated to support women and children living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.
“The sex offenders registry cannot be private, it’s been too long in secret and we don’t know if anything is even in it. It’s not rocket science, because if the convictions are made public in the media, then we should be able to see the registry,” Crawford stated.
Explaining that the registry should not be kept private to ensure that the parents can have the relevant information to protect their children, Crawford added, “We all know what we should do. The question is why we are not doing what we know we should do. All of us have to come and be a part of the war now.”
She also stated that, “When it comes to all forms of child abuse and in particular sexual abuse, it is not just limited to the girls. I want us to honor the boys who are being buggered. I use that in particular to say that the more information that we give to our young people, they can be a part of the change.”
Crawford also said that the legal definition for rape in Jamaica should be amended to include other sexual violations.
“The issue is not the laws, the issue is not that we don’t have laws. In Jamaica the definition for rape remains, male sex organ into female sex organ. There’s nothing else in Jamaica that is qualified as rape. We have made recommendations [to] expand and include other things. To include other types of violation such as instruments — if somebody uses a stick or a bottle. Even if they don’t want to call it rape, to have equal penalty, because the scars are no less,” Crawford noted
She referred to a recent case in St Ann in which a boy and a girl were buggered.
“Recently, when we had the incident in St Ann, a girl and a boy was buggered and there were conversations around the fact that our Jamaican law does not protect our young boys because it doesn’t call it rape,” Crawford stated.
“There was a public outcry that died very quickly. Our young people most of the time do not know this information. I believe that we are too tame with what we teach our young people. We are too censored in what we expose them to, so they really can’t be true advocates for themselves. They can’t really cry out the way we would want them to because they’re naïve.”
Urging parents to sensitize their children to the dangers around them, Crawford said, “I do believe there is a time for us to change this façade, that if we expose our young people to the raw facts, that they are going to become delinquents. The power is in the knowledge for them to protect themselves.”
Driving home the point that every child deserves a safe childhood, Crawford noted, “Child rights are ingrained in how we live in the world. Physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse is very related, when you’re gonna talk about child sexual abuse. In my experience, most times the child first starts experiencing emotional abuse when the unwanted approaches are taking place.”
Children’s officer at the Child Protection and Family Service Agency, Judine Webb Brown, confirmed that 10 in every 1,000 children are abused and 68 per cent of every 1,000 Jamaican children are victims of violent crimes.
“The statistics show that an average of 10 in every 1,000 children are the subject of child abuse and maltreatment. Also, 79 per cent of children witness violence in their community and at home, 68 per cent of every 1,000 Jamaican children are victims of violent crimes, and approximately 80 per cent of Jamaican children experience some form of psychological or physical violence administered as discipline, 65 per cent of children are bullied at school,” Webb Brown said.
She also stated that the National Children’s Registry receives approximately 1,500 reports on child abuse on a monthly bases, and neglect is one of the country’s leading types of abuse that is reported.
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