NGO Coalition releases statement in light of recent allegations in Dominica

ngo coalition1The NGO Coalition for the Protection of Children and Youth has released a statement in light of arrests and allegations of inappropriate behavior made against three men involving a minor.

Earlier this week the police announced that investigations into the matter had commenced.

Below is the full statement.

In the light of the recent allegations and arrests we would like to raise the following issues:

To the Officials:
-When children make statements before the authorities they should feel confident and trust that these reports will be kept confidential until arrests have been made so that their safety is not compromised. They need to be sure that their cases will not be lost or discontinued without just reason.

They need to be confident that the investigation will be processed swiftly whoever the accused may be. They should be assured as well that where necessary they will be assisted in obtaining a restraining order.

To the Media:
– When children make statements Don’t Forget they are MINORS and protected by law from exposure in the media of ANY identifying details until there is a VERDICT; these include name, address, age, school and other specific identifiers.

To the public:
-Individuals are legally innocent until proven guilty in court; we need to avoid jeopardizing the case by warning those accused so they can lawyer up or even leave the country.

To Parents and Guardians:
-If someone offers you money to not proceed with a court matter this person is committing a crime. If you receive the funds and drop the case, YOU are also committing a crime. If someone offers you cash, take it, along with a witness immediately to the police at the highest level who will keep it as evidence of a crime.

To the children and young people who are thinking about telling their story we say:
-Abuse is not just intercourse. No one has a right to touch you sexually without your consent and if you are under 16 it does not matter if you consent or not. No one should send you porn or ask you to send them nude pictures, or engage you in sexting. This is illegal and can result in the person doing it going to jail. We will stand with you to help you make your report and to do the right thing to stop the abuse. Do not delete the pictures. We will help you Recognize what is Abuse, Report it, and Recover from it.

On all matters of violence and various assault of children, we the members of the Dominica NGO Coalition will continue to promote the safety and security of children, particularly those affected by sexual assault and we will continue to oversee that due process prevails towards the realization of justice. Remember, all children, just as adults, deserve to be SAFE, STRONG, and FREE!

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18 Comments

  1. committed
    March 5, 2016

    I strongly believe that the time has come when this demonic,satanic and diabolic government should go.
    They are the cause of all this evil the country is grappling with.
    To begin with, you have Skerit declaring to the world “no law,no constitution can stop me”. That in itself is a curse on the nation
    Skerit ,pack your handbag and your devilish guys and flee the country ,we are giving you all full immunity. If you say you love this country, stop the hemorrhage, just go please!!

  2. Texan
    March 4, 2016

    Guys,what’s going on?just seeing these posts were the kids raped?what happened??

  3. La Pwette
    March 4, 2016

    It is a shame what is happening in Dominica where some of our political and business leadership are caught molesting our nation’s youth…. That is not cool, shame of those involved and those not yet caught, your time is coming…

  4. The Evangelist?
    March 4, 2016

    To be successful, we need to declare a state of emergency and demand that all Parliamentarians resign forthwith, in other to facilitate an honest and thorough investigation. We need to start from the head and go down to the very least. It’s too much and this is our opportunity to restore our country. When those who supposed to lead us are the ones abusing us in anyway whatsoever, we are definitely heading into serious trouble.

    But to call a state of emergency will put us in a lot of trouble you know with the state of Dominica today. To do so, we would need a president that puts country first, and such is not the case with this current president. Then we need a very strong police commissioner who is is not a politician. That to is a problem because we have a commissioner that is only concerned about the interests of politicians that put him there.

    To make matters even worse, we cannot turn to our church leaders to help us because everything is corrupt. What a mess we are in!…

  5. Truth
    March 4, 2016

    The coalition fills a void created by the Silence and politisation of the NYC. Keep speaking for our vouceless youth and children. Yes, i know the NYC is a member of the coalition but not enough!

  6. De_Scripter
    March 4, 2016

    NGO Coalition I applaud you…I was thinking the same thing..This is a great article because I think some of the things in your article SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN..

  7. KID ON THE BLOCK
    March 4, 2016

    What about you and your party? Are you bothered? What part are you playing to help?

  8. March 4, 2016

    Society must protect children, not only waiting to prosecute when they are violated, but taking proactive measures to prevent abuse. We have children as young as 12 year olds dressing and looking like 18 years and moving about with no adult supervision. Gone are the days when children were not allowed to go to public dances when not accompanied by parent. What about puting an age limit for attendace to nightclubs or any public place where alchoholic beverage is sold.

  9. B
    March 4, 2016

    This is the type of discussion we should be having on the talk shows instead of people calling to bash all involved. Let the police do their jobs and in the meantime lets all have conversations on preventing such actions, signs to look for etc. Thank you NGO for taking a positive stand!

  10. Barbara Saunders
    March 4, 2016

    Abuse of minors, particularly sexual abuse is abhorrent and no matter who does it, this is totally unacceptable and must be exposed and punished. The greater responsibility must always be that of the adult in every case.

    However, if we want to tackle this scourge seriously, I believe there is one element missing in the statement by the NGO Coalition providing guidance. There should be a word to children as well, particularly those twelve and above.
    “Try to enjoy your childhood innocence for as long as you can. There will be enough time for you to be an adult. Don’t be misguided by friends and others who make you believe it is fashionable to be adult before you are and to engage in adult behaviour”.

    Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and you should try your best not to defile it in any way. Just a word to the children and their parents who should be always alert to their activities.

  11. Massacre
    March 4, 2016

    Thank you very much for this information. You have enlightened a lot of us.

  12. looking
    March 4, 2016

    We may have to declare a state of national emergency.

  13. Sochi
    March 4, 2016

    To the potential Abusers??

  14. MIA
    March 4, 2016

    in what island is this off/group located? so much years of abuse going on in Dominica against the young boys and girls, its all happening right next door.

  15. March 4, 2016

    It looks like the ruling political party is not bothered…but the more they allow abuse to go on in the society with taking swift actions all the population will be subjected to abuse on all level. No justice no peace..

    • Righteous
      March 4, 2016

      No political party is allowing anyone to molest and abuse children. The citizens of Dominica have for too long sat back an say “c’est la vie” to these types of behavior. We have tolerated our women sleeping with married men, we have tolerated married women sleeping with young boys, we have tolerated married men and women not married to each other sleeping together, and now more than ever we have tolerated man and man, woman and woman sleeping with each other.

      If a minister, pastor, lawyer, teacher, businessman, adult, etc. chooses to have sexual relationship with a minor, it is inappropriate and the laws which are in placed should be enforced; any sexual contact with a minor, is and should be treated as a crime. We need to be reprogrammed as a society to not accept these behaviors as normal. And yes, mothers should warn their children to not do as they may have done, but at the end of the day, you can’t blame all politicians/teachers/lawyers/businessmen etc. for the actions of…

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