The Business and Professional Women (BPW) Dominica Chapter has stated its intention to advocate, in the new year, for a sex offenders registry in Dominica.
President of BPW Dominica, Rhoda St. John, said the organization will work with other women’s groups in the region to ensure the sex offenders registry becomes a reality.
“We are working with a number of Caribbean islands where we’re going to be looking at getting the sex offenders registries implemented in as many of the Caribbean islands as we can in 2020,” she explained.
A sex offenders registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences.
St. John said the aim is to make a list which will be made public in order to create awareness of the perpetrators in the various Caribbean countries.
“As to if it is going to be approved by the government is another question that is left to be answered but we will be advocating that our laws and the government look at the sex offenders registry as we would like every Caribbean island to implement it seeing that it is an act against women,” she urged.
The BPW president said that in order for the organisation to take an effective stand against violence, a sex offenders registry is one of the things that need to be implemented
At the moment, sex offender registries exist in two English-speaking Caribbean countries, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Just recently, on Friday the 13th September 2019, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago unanimously passed the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill 2019 in the House of Representatives making Trinidad and Tobago is now the smallest country in the world to pass a form of public sex offender registration.
The amendment provides for public access to an online sex offenders registry and gives the court the discretion to decide which offender goes on the registry in order to allow due process to balance off the sex offender’s right to private and family life under the Trinidad and Tobago constitution.
The bill also provides many other groundbreaking provisions including mandatory DNA and STD testing for sex offenders and a compensation provision for victims who contract STDs from perpetrators.
The Caribbean Committee Against Sex crimes is encouraging all CARICOM member states to review the Trinidad and Tobago bill and consider adopting some of its provisions in order to help deter sex crime regionally.
The Committee points out that not every state needs to go the route of a public sex offenders registry as they can choose to follow the UK and Canadian models of having a registry only accessible to the police.
A Sex offenders register is needed. Convicted sex offenders who have served time abroad, placed on sex offenders register abroad and then deported to Dominica should he placed on the Sex Offenders register in Dominica and monitored. A child sex offender will always be a child sex offender, they never change. This is going to be a challenge, like someone mentioned, the rich will continue to abuse, and get away with it, whilst the poor gets convicted, the Laws in Dominica is not ready. Sexual abuse is on a spectrum, it ranges from in appropriate touching, grooming, trafficking for sex etc. Our young people need to educated to understand what constitute Sexual abuse. They should not be made to feel ashamed when they are raped and sexual abused. I heard a comment from a relative that got me thinking, her ex-husband started a relationship with a child, after being in a relationship that child’s mother, she called her slut, I corrected her, I said no, he is a pervert, and child sex…
“we would like every Caribbean island to implement it seeing that it is an act against women,” Wow you just had to show your ignorance first thing this year? MEN ARE RAPED JUST AS MUCH AS WOMEN. we just dont talk about it because it makes us look weak in the eyes of women. yes i said it, men also suffer from this acts as well so to say it’s only women who are hurt by this is very insensitive.
Aptly named SOAP (Sex Offender Apprehension Program) in some large cities, if not tailored to suit small countries/communities, this could have serious ramifications such as vigilantism, even if this registry is designed for police use only.
Great initiative indeed! As someone said earlier, hopefully the Less women in Dca who are thriving in this business undercover will be investigated more rigorously, prosecuted and added to the list if convicted. These Lesbo women, especially those in uniform are getting away with this terrible acts on the younger girls for cash and bling. Time is of essence so lets go for it
Women Against Registry advocates for the families who have loved ones required to register as sexual offenders.
More about the issue:
According to the NCMEC map there are over 912,000 men, women and children (as young as 8 and 10 in some states) required to register. The NCMEC has ceased publishing the number of registered citizens as it will soon top 1,000,000. The “crimes” range from urinating in public (indecent exposure), sexting, incest, mooning, exposure, false accusations by a soon-to-be ex-wife, angry girlfriend, or spiteful student, viewing abusive OR suggestive images of anyone 18 years old or younger, playing doctor, prostitution, solicitation, Romeo and Juliet consensual sexual dating relationships, rape, endangering the welfare of a child, the old bait-n-switch internet stings (taking sometimes 12 months before a person steps over the line) guys on the autism spectrum or with intellectual disabilities and many others.
If you multiply the number on the registry…
I notice this debate is not popular, had it been Skeritt do that, or Linton do that, there would be no space for the spews, but something as important lije chikd abuse NOTHING after all.
My friend Ras B it is indeed throughout he region I have witnessed first hand how people treat children, physically, mentally and emotionally. I cannot say that i have seen orcwitnessednsexual abuse but i have had discussions with females following an incident my Godthe girl child got the blame. These things needs to stop in Dominica.
Bring on the list.
Great article, DNO and I support this initiative. One questions: What is BPW?
ADMIN: Business and Professional Women, Dominica chapter. The article will be updated with the details.
Excellent idea, period!!!
I strongly support any sensible idea to protect the people of our nation. Register all offenders regardless of gender.
Make sure they do not reside near any schools, playgrounds or anywhere children frequent.
We may not be able to control their behavior but we can certainly take steps to protect ourselves and our children.
About time…I hope it passes….I know BPW is a women’s group, however, please not that women aren’t the only ones impacted. Great work and I pray it passes.
I support the spirit of this movement, but not the implementation. I guess they’re trying to copy the American system where sex offenders are added to a publicly available registry. But there are a number of issues with this system which I hope we can avoid.
Also, we have seen how the laws here are not equally applied to the well connected. I fear that this registry will end up penalizing the poor and the mentally challenged while those with friends in high places are allowed to break the law with impunity.
And why only list sex offenders? Why not murderers and thieves as well?
You have studied Dominica well.
I like your comment!!
Every time there is a recommendation for Real Progress we see comments like yours. You are not thinking str8; u ain’t just thinking. You support it but don’t want to implement. Dude that is like giving good advice and never doing the actual deed.
Laws not being applied to well connected people has nothing to do with a Sexual ASSAULT register. We in Dominica too like to over-extend something sometimes we just need to leave something in the perspective it was said .Your comment is ridiculous and you just that confuse 12 gullible people. smhH
Yessssss!!!!! We need that for real.
I,for the love of thee,do solemnly swear that, any article I write on newsonline,shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth ,So help me GOD. Goodbye to the old year and welcome to the new year.
Whereas I believe the idea is a thought in the right direction, I have a few problems with the article as written. In the article, the president of the women’s group claims that; we would like every Caribbean island to implement it seeing that it is an act against women,” she urged. It is definitely not. Please review the statement. In today’s world, we can not simply claim that sex abuse is only against women, men have similar complaints. The statement is unfortunate, is it because of a lack of insight or an innate desire to claim the victim’s role?
Additionally, we seem quick to be wagonists to first world country practices where we lack the tools necessary to ensure our proposal would be appropriate. Our forensic skill set in the entire Caribbean is at best limited. If you wish to apply such devastating labels to people we must be sure that our findings are evidenced-based. Without the necessary forensic evidence, I would be reluctant to call for a sex offenders registry.
Definitely here for it! Everyone should know their dirty deeds!
About time to these grown men need to know that the children’s welfare is paramount, that they should be protected from sexual abuse, in fact all abuse. There is a history in DA where people seem to accept, hide, pretend that it is not happening. Children are blamed at times especially the girls. Dominica was listed as the forth Island within the region for a high volume of child abuse. Jamaica, Trinidad,Barbados being the other 3.
Shame on us may we make immediate changes for our children’s future.
Start on the music, home environment, knowing where your children are. Check who you bringing in the house. Mother’s be there for your children, do not let people Rob them of their innocence.
grown women as well. all them lesbians that preying on the young girls as well i hope u realise that that epidemic is as big a the male one in dominica and maybe even bigger