Female parliamentarians on Wednesday pooled their ideas on the ‘Stamp it out!’ white paper which will lead to new legislation on sexual violence.
And Minister of Human Services & Social Security Priya Manickchand said that as with other consultations the suggestions made by the parliamentarians would be taken on board.
The document is in its final consultative period as over fifty consultations have been held with various groups countrywide and it is expected that by mid next month the draft legislation would be put together to be presented to parliament.
The minister said there are a few others groups, like the medical council, the bar association and the police force that she wants to meet before the final draft is prepared.
One of the major focuses of the document, which contains proposals that deal with toughening up laws against sexual offences and improving protection against sexual violence, is a progressive definition for rape.
Contacted yesterday Minister Manickchand said that she felt the discussions with her female counterparts, most of whom were present, went very well and she strongly believes that regardless of their political persuasions, the female parliamentarians could have caucuses on some issues. The consultation was held at Cara Lodge.
The minister’s view was echoed by Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian Sheila Holder who felt the consultation was worthwhile, noting that the turnout was very good. She said that they all complimented the minister for the existence of the paper as they felt it was an issue that is worth all the attention being paid to it at the moment.
The minister made an opening presentation to the gathering and gave some statistics which included the fact that between 2000 and 2004 there were some 800 reports of sexual violence and only 50% of those resulted in charges being laid and only 3% resulted in convictions.
One of the issues Holder raised, she said, was the causal factors of sexual violence which may help to explain its prevalence and this she thinks should be included in the paper.
Another parliamentarian agreed with her suggestion and said further that the business sector may wish to fund a study in the area and have the data collected. There was a suggestion too that some men felt that the consultations were targeting men.
PNCR parliamentarian Debra Backer told Stabroek News that they suggested that more men should be involved in the consultation stage as they feel that is one of the ways to end sexual violence; get men involved as there are men who feel very strongly about the issue.
It was also intimated to members of parliament that the paper seemed to be suggesting that there should be a presumption of guilt rather than a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The question of false allegations being made against persons and the issue of monetary compensation which would forestall the victims testifying against the alleged perpetrators were also raised.
It was also suggested that parents who hide sexual violation of their children be held as accessories to the crime.
Backer told Stabroek News that the discussion among the women was very informal and noted that her party agreed in principle to a modern piece of legislation that deals with sexual violence.
She said her party feels that moral education should become compulsory in schools as there has been a moral decline in society over the years. This is seen not only in an upsurge in sexual violence but in crime in general, she said.
Backer also pointed to the need to rehabilitate offenders, noting that after serving time in jail they have to return to society. “So the reform of offenders is needed and this is something that the PNCR alluded to over the years,” she said. She said the party has no problem with the paper in principle and will now await its tabling in parliament.
