The Twenty-Third Meeting of the CARICOM Council on Human and Social Development (COHSOD XXIII) this week in Georgetown decided that it will focus on plugging the gaps in existing legislation, to guarantee mandatory reporting of sexual abuse and enforce full protection for the region’s children.
COHSOD also recognised the interrelated and mutually reinforcing nature of all forms of abuse – physical, sexual, emotional, mental, and neglect, including medical neglect – and agreed to take urgent collaborative action to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice and that they receive the full force of the law, according to a press release from the Caricom Secretariat at Turkeyen.
And in dealing with this pressing issue, COHSOD stated that it will continue to advocate with member states for the creation of safe spaces, in which victims and others affected are free to report and speak out against sexual abuse without fear of recrimination.
In the meantime, COHSOD reviewed the overwhelming evidence documented in
