Director of the Child Fund International Francis Joseph says while several persons have been calling for harsher punishment for sex offenders on the island, it doesn’t take away the family problems.
A UNICEF report has indicated that there is a significant increase in the number of sexual abuse cases among children on the island. But Joseph said after the perpetrators are put away, the families are still left broken.
“It’s not an isolated case that you can pick up anybody and put them into prison because the problem persists. There has to be a disciplined way in addressing the situation. You cannot play games with that issue. It is very serious and destroying the human resource base of your country,” he said.
He says there have also been strong calls to punish parents, who allow their children to be exploited sexually for monetary favors, and a solution to the problem should first be sought.
Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.
We will delete comments that:
See our full comment/user policy/agreement.