Bermuda must keep violent offenders in jail longer

One of the important roles that the Coaltion for the Protection of Children plays in the Bermudian community is advocating for legislation and social policy to make our society a safer place.

 As part of that advocacy role in 2013, the CPC published their 40 point plan for a better Bermuda, which outlines a series of recommendations affecting education, financial assistance, child and family services,wage guidelines and the criminal justice system. The CPC is pleased to have received a tremendous amount of community as well as government support for the majority of the recommendations.

We are now in a position to put forward the specifics of our legislative agenda for 2014. 

Of the 40 recommendations, many require changes in legislation but some only require changes in social or administrative policy and can easily be amended within the civil service itself. 

This is what we would like to see changed in 2014:

1) Change the legislation that prevents the publication of the names of person charged with sexual offences.

At the present time people charged with sexual offences are protect from any publicity disclosing their identity. Even after conviction many still benefit from anonymity if by publishing their name it could lead to the identification of the victim.

Some of the most prevalent cases of sexual abuse against children occur within families and consequently the offender even after being found guilty continues to be protected. 

The rationale behind this legislation is the protection of the identity of the victim. Clearly the victim ought to have his or her identity protected but in all of the years that the CPC has been doing this work we have met very few victims, or families of victims, who if asked would want the perpetrator’s name protected even if it may lead to their identity being implied.  

The result of this legislation is that these individuals continue to affect sometimes generations of children within not only their immediate family but sometimes well beyond.  

No other category of offender is similarly protected from public scrutiny. If we take the view that a person should be protected from publicity until convicted then that privilege should be afforded to all categories of offenders not just sexual predators. 

2) Remove the automatic release after two thirds of violent offender’s prison terms.

It is the view of the CPC that inmates incarcerated for violent offences or predatory sexual offences that refuse to participate in appropriate programmes should either not be eligible for this automatic release or be subject to parole supervision for the remaining portion of their sentence. 

3) Introduce legislation mandating mediation in cases involving disputes over custody, access or child support in Supreme Court.

This provision was addressed in the most recent throne speech and the Coalition is assisting with the development of various models and approaches that will address the practical aspects of such a move.

4) Revise and strengthen provisions in law that provide for representation for children.

Revamp and update and strengthen the provisions in the Children Act that allow for the appointment if either legal representation or a guardian Ad litem to be appointed for children whose parents do not appear to be representing their children’s best interests or when the court must make custody or access decisions in which the child’s views need to be heard or his or her interests protected independently. 

5) Ban the practice of incarceration for debt.

Currently the archaic practice of imprisoning people who are unable to pay debts continues despite the general recognition that the practice is barbaric. The contempt of court legislations is used as the vehicle to achieve this end. While the law actually forbids such imprisonment if the individual is unable to pay the practice continues and that leads us to the conclusion that the law needs to be strengthened in order to stop this misuse of the criminal justice system.

In addition to our advocacy efforts, we will be focusing on the following 

1) Breakfast for every child programme expansion.

The CPC currently provides every hungry child breakfast in five schools every morning. Additionally, breakfast is provided at five more schools on a needs-basis in conjunction with the Southampton Seventh Day Adventist Church. In September this year, two more schools will be added to our full breakfast program. This will put the program on target to serve 50,000 breakfasts in the 2014/2015 school year. 

2) Family food storehouse.

The increased numbers of families in need has required an expansion of the CPC family food storehouse. To that end, we are making an appeal to schools and grocery stores to assist in donating non-perishable grocery items. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with the collection at various participating collection points.

3) Summer camp sponsorship.

With the assistance of OIL, we were able to send 100 children to camp the majority of the summer months, ensuring some of our at-risk youth are constructively engaged over the summer. We will expand this sponsorship even further this year because of growing demand.  

4) Family mediation programme.

The CPC has provided pro-bono family mediation services to hundreds of parents in dispute over issues related to custody, access, and child support. The success of this program has been the reduction in harm to the children of these parents who are in conflict. Because of the commitment of this current government to expanding the use of mediation in these areas, the CPC will be expanding its capacity.

5) Peer mediation and conflict resolution programme.

In 2013, the CPC trained over 60 students in six different schools to become peer mediators and assist their fellow students in resolving school-based conflicts. Conflict education trainings were provided to an additional three schools. Because of the support from teachers and guidance counsellors, the programme will be expanding to include additional schools in the fall of 2014. n

For the fuller version of this  go online at www.bermudasun.bm

Sheelagh Cooper is the founder and chair of the Coalition for the Protection of Children.

6) Continued professional development for family  mediators.

As part of an ongoing professional development for those in Bermuda working in the field of conflict resolution and mediation, the CPC through the CCFM will offer another in a series of advanced mediation workshops in collaboration with Carleton University’s Department of Law.

7. ‘Speak up be safe’ programme.

The CPC is piloting this programme in two schools in 2014. The program is delivered to primary and middle school children and is similar to the “Good touch bad touch” programme in the US. The programme educates and empowers children, equipping them with the skills they need to prevent or interrupt physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. 

This program is coupled with intervention and treatment for children who disclose abuse as well as support through the court process should prosecution be the result of the child’s disclosure.

8. Family planning campaign.

One of the issues that continues to complicate our work with children, is the tendency for so many mothers to have more children than they can afford to feed. This clearly impacts not only the mother’s ability to feed, cloth, and house those children, but also has an adverse effect on her time and energy to nurture and support those children. The CPC has for some years been paying for birth control devices, such as the IUD but in 2014 we will put additional emphasis on the importance of family planning through a media campaign that encourages a more proactive approach.