By Hawwa Lubna | June 14th, 2012
Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives has been sexually abused at some time in their lives, according to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against children.
Gut-wrenching details of heinous child sexual abuse cases grabbing headlines in the past few years eventually gathered enough public pressure in the Maldive for the authorities to pass a law stipulating stringent punishments for sexual predators.
Since the passage of “Stringent Punishments for Perpetrators of Sexual Violence Against Children Act’ in 2009, several paedophiles have been incarcerated for 10 to 20 years of life.
According to Prosecutor General Office (PGO), 46 cases of sexually abusing a minor were submitted to the courts in 2011. In 2010, 35 cases were submitted. The year before, 41 cases.
Some high profile cases make headlines but often cases go under-reported. With no public statistics on the number of incarcerations, the total figures on how many cases are successfully prosecuted and who has been put behind bars are unknown.
Yet, more cases are being reported and investigated.
In 2010, the magistrate court on Ungoofaaru island alone convicted eight people in relation to 10 different child abuse cases from Raa Atoll. Among them were fathers who raped their daughters, a mother who hid her husband’s sexually deviant crimes, and men who abused little boys no older than 10.
Do you know who they are? No – but it is definitely your legal right to know.
Article 77 of the aforementioned legislation not only obligates the authorities to publicise the identity of the offenders convicted under the law, but also tells the authorities to create a website through which the can public know who the sexual offenders are.
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