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I refer to a matter involving a minor, who, being a passenger on a hired vehicle travelling between Roseau and a nearby community, was driven to a secluded area where the driver attempted to coerce that minor into sexual activity. \u00a0After 6yrs, that matter is still to complete its \u201c9 yards\u201d in the Magistrate\u2019s Court. Within that context, I ask, \u201cWas it wrong that the family reported this matter to the Police?\u201d<\/p>\n
Simple logic says \u201cNo\u201d. But the inordinate delay in bringing this matter to a conclusion defies logic! \u00a0Well \u2026at least my logic, as well as that of those closely associated with this case.\u00a0 Maybe greater attention should have been paid to what appeared to be the first telltale sign of trouble \u2013 a one year gap between the time of lodging the complaint and the time that the defendant was brought in for questioning. \u00a0In between that time, a formal letter of complaint was submitted to the Police Commissioner by the family of the victim. Since then, it has been a litany of court appearances, adjournments and legal shenanigans as that matter has literally dragged or more correctly, has been dragged through the legal system.<\/p>\n
Five years after reporting the incident to the Police Headquarters, the Prosecution completed its case at the Magistrate\u2019s Court! The defense promptly proceeded to file a No Case submission. \u00a0The Magistrate ruled that there was a case to answer. But in another legal maneuver aimed, no doubt, at extending the case further, the defense appealed to the local High Court for a review of that ruling. \u00a0At the last court appearance in March of this year, the parties learnt that the matter \u201chas not been ventilated in the High Court\u201d. \u00a0The case was adjourned yet again (the millionth time and the second time in this calendar year). \u00a0By the time the next hearing comes around, (August 2021), it will be over 12 months since that \u201cappeal\u201d was lodged at the high court.<\/p>\n
Members of the public, this is NOT a civil matter. We speak here of a criminal case involving the abuse of a minor, one in which the very life of the minor was at stake. Yet, the case has languished at the preliminary stage of our court system for almost 6yrs!! \u00a0One would think that, having been referred to the higher court, the case would receive a level of attention with the degree of urgency that it deserves. But no! It must snail through our highest court as well. \u00a0As such it is<\/u><\/strong> safe to conclude that those closely associated with the matter at hand, may as well prepare for another 6yrs of showing up at the court, another 6yrs of adjournments and another 6yrs of legal maneuverings and exploitation of loopholes in the system.<\/p>\n In the meantime, the defendant has filed a law suit against the family of the victim. He is also free to go about his merry way, providing transportation service to the public, including children!! Are these children at risk of abuse? You be the judge.<\/p>\n The reality is that our system makes a mockery of due process in this and other child abuse matters and in fact, allows for an environment where children can be abused and the perpetrators face little or no consequences. Take for instance the recent case of the man from Wesley who was charged EC$800.00 having been found guilty of spinning a child in a wash machine!!<\/p>\n AH MAGWAIS SA!! Are the authorities serious about juvenile justice in this, the Commonwealth of Dominica? Or is this fair isle becoming a safe haven where innocent children are abused sexually and otherwise by adults and subsequently mercilessly tortured by the very system which is supposed to protect them? Maybe they are, maybe they are not! But given recent experiences, and I dare say my previous experiences as a Welfare\/Child Care\/Probation Officer, I strongly question the level of seriousness of successive administrations, to the cause of child protection and the related International treaty which Dominica has signed and ratified. It is unfortunate that I have had to come to this conclusion. But the reality speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what the authorities say.<\/p>\n Dominica ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, three decades ago on March 13, 1991. One of the four core principles of the Convention is \u201cdevotion to the\u00a0best interests of the child\u201d. Articles 4, 19, 34, 35, 36 and 39 of the Convention are all instructive as they relate to child protection by \u201cThe State\u201d.<\/p>\n In the July 25th, 2019 edition of Dominica News on Line, I outlined my concerns about the absence of a Family Court in Dominica, in an article captioned, \u201cIn support of a Family Court\u201d. In that article, I sought to speak to our Parliament and Court System (indirectly) by addressing \u201cYour Honor, Madame Speaker\u201d. Judging solely on the comments or the lack thereof on the article, the concept of a Family Court appears to lack the traction and support which I honestly believe that it deserves. This may be attributed to a lack of public advocacy on the subject. Yet, the Family Court is meant to expeditiously allow due process in matters pertaining to the care and protection of children and young persons (juveniles), the very future of our nation. This would also include issues of child maintenance. This Court is meant to shield minors from the glare of public scrutiny and help bring a semblance of closure to family matters within the legal system in a just and timely manner.<\/p>\n The case referenced in this article goes back 6yrs. This is a cruel and ridiculously long time for anyone, more so a minor, to await justice, within the context of a country which has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child; that country also claims to uphold the lofty goals of the said convention. These lengthy delays are unfair to both the complainant and should I say, the defendant as well; providing however, that the defense\/defendant is not engaged in the process of exploiting legal loopholes and riding on technicalities in an attempt at frustrating the complainant. I shall not repeat myself on the why\u2019s and the how\u2019s and all that is embodied within the tardy court process. But Oh! How sIowly do the wheels of justice turn in this fair land!\u00a0 What additional pain and anguish we inflict on victims of child abuse! Many child victims grow into adulthood, as is the situation with this case and are still in search of some kind of closure and justice. These individuals remain locked in the trauma of the abuse that was inflicted on them.<\/p>\n I listened with tremendous interest to Ms Jemma Azille-Lewis of the Child Abuse Prevention Unit, as she spoke on national radio, just about 2 weeks ago. She provided, then, statistics on the number of reported child abuse cases on island in recent times. \u00a0I regret that I do not have that information to share in spite of efforts to obtain it. I clearly recall her reporting however, that the majority of the cases were sexual abuse in nature. The number of incest cases were as high as 25! Of course, she could only speak to reported cases.<\/p>\n Even then, I raise a couple critical questions here – how many of these cases have been prosecuted? How many are in the process of being prosecuted? We keep shooting ourselves in the foot by not putting the systems in place to expeditiously deal with and support those who bravely come forward to report incidents of abuse. By so doing we provide no encouragement to the increasingly high number of skeptics, who are convinced that our system works against the interest of our child victims. In the circumstances, we perpetuate a social ill, which eats away at the very fabric of our society. <\/strong>It is imperative, that on a humanitarian level, we as a nation address this evil.<\/p>\n By no means am I predicting that the establishment of a Family Court will eliminate all problems related to the subject matter at hand; but it would significantly impact on the number of family related cases pending within the legal system. We must move forward. \u00a0At the risk of sounding redundant, I postulate that political will is one major ingredient required in that forward movement.<\/p>\n I submit that it\u2019s time to have a National Tete -a- Tete, spearheaded by the Social Welfare Division, which incorporates Child Care, Child Protection and Probation Services\/Officers. Let us look at policies, legislation, procedures and processes; let us identify what needs to be done and what needs to be in place in order to holistically deal with all facets of this child abuse monster. \u00a0A Family Court must be an integral part of the process of dealing with this issue.<\/p>\n Dominica, rise up and hear the cry of our abused children! Hear the cry of the voiceless! Dominica, protect the innocence of our children! Allow our children to be children! Dominica, protect the right of our children to enjoy their childhood!<\/strong><\/p>\n I rest my case\u2026..for now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I refer to a matter involving a minor, who, being a passenger on a hired vehicle travelling between Roseau and a nearby community, was driven to a secluded area where the driver attempted to coerce that minor into sexual activity….","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":266267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-court-law","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n