Category: International

South Africa: Adoption of two bills to curb gender-based violence in SA welcomed

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[www.iol.co.za – 5/31/21] Cape Town – Civil society organisations have welcomed the adoption of two pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening laws fighting gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). … He said the bill aimed to expand the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to include the particulars of sex offenders and not only sex offenders against children and persons who were mentally disabled. Read the full article  

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Philippines: Senate approves bill on tougher crackdown vs online child sex abuse

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[rappler.com – 5/27/21] Senators approved on final reading a bill that would expand government protections against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. On Thursday, May 27, a total of 23 senators voted to pass Senate Bill (SB) No. 2209 or the proposed Special Protections against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act. No senator voted against the bill or abstained from the vote. SB 2209 provides a comprehensive list identifying which acts constitute online sexual abuse of children. … The bill would also give additional tools to law…

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India: Can rehab for people convicted of a sex offense help combat sexual violence?

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[theweek.in] Sexual violence and the fear of sexual abuse has a profound and devastating effect on not only individuals, but entire communities. According to the 2019 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32,033 rape cases were registered across India; that is an average of 88 cases every day. Since the Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, public outrage has led to more punitive measures to combat sexual violence, and keeping people convicted of a sex offense in prison for longer seems like an appealing resolve. However, in reality,…

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Malta: Prisoners are encouraged to complete rehab programmes based on their individual needs

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[independent.com.mt – 5/23/21] Speculation over the quality and quantity of rehabilitation programmes available for prisoners in Malta has been the at the centre of many debates. The Malta Independent on Sunday contacted the Ministry for Home Affairs to get to the bottom of things. According to the Correctional Services Agency (CSA), since February 2020, “every new admission is assessed by Care, Reintegration and Education Unit (CRU) personnel […] who create a tailored plan according to the person’s individual needs.” The CSA consists of medical officers, social workers, psychologists and care…

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Uganda: Convicted homosexuals to be included in Uganda sex offender registry

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[76crimes.com – 5/7/21] Ugandans convicted of having sex with people of the same sex would be included in a new sex offender registry, following the passage by Parliament of a new anti-gay bill May 4. If the bill is signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, people convicted under provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 would be entered for life into a publicly accessible sex offenders registry. The database would be hosted by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and would be accessible by security agencies, health insurance…

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South Africa: Warning against making register for sex offenders public

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[www.iol.co.za – 5/7/21] Pretoria – The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has warned against calls to make public the national register for sex offenders. It is believed that making the register public would curb sexual offences against children, but according to the department, this would fuel mob justice against perpetrators. … Department spokesperson Steve Mahlangu said publicising the register could not be done without violating the right to privacy of an individual, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. “There are also dangers of the register being used unjustifiably…

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Uganda: Stiff penalties for sexual offenders as Uganda moves to create directory

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[monitor.co.ug – 5/5/21] Persons convicted of sexual offences will have their data registered with the National Identification and Registration Authority (Nira), according to the Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 that Parliament passed on Monday night. The Legal and Parliamentary Committee chairperson, Mr Jacob Oboth Oboth (NRM, West Budama South) presented the Bill in Parliament on Monday afternoon. He asked the House to create a sex offender’s register, which will be linked to the Nira system and information shared within 10 days on conviction of the offenders. “The register shall be managed…

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Australia: South Australia Wants To Set Up A Public Domestic Violence Register

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[ladbible.com – 5/5/21] South Australia has outlined a new proposal to tackle domestic violence in the state. The state government has suggested a public register be established in a similar fashion to a public sex offender registry, according to the ABC. It would allow anyone, particularly potential partners, to look up a person’s name to see if they have any history with domestic abuse. The potential updates to the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme would also see South Australian Police notify a person of their partner’s history if they believe they’re…

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UK: No stalkers’ register in domestic abuse bill an ‘insult to victims’

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[theguardian.com – 4/28/21] Ministers have been accused of misleading and insulting victims after a cross-party group of peers abandoned a push to create an automatic register of dangerous domestic abusers and stalkers. The domestic abuse bill is expected to receive royal assent this week, four years after it was announced in the Queen’s speech. But it will not include a specific stalkers’ register, despite briefings from the government after the death of Sarah Everard that it was likely to support such a measure. Instead, after sustained pressure from cross-party MPs…

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UK: Hartlepool Member of Parliament candidate is revealed as convicted sex offender – and explains why he is seeking election

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[gazettelive.co.uk – 4/21/21] A registered sex offender has been confirmed as a candidate in the upcoming Hartlepool by-elections. Christopher ______, who is on the ballot for the May 6 vote, was sentenced for voyeurism last year for filming a naked woman in a hotel room while she was asleep. … Christopher ______ has since moved to Hartlepool where he is seeking to stand for MP [Member of Parliament]. Asked whether he intended to tell the electorate about his convictions, he said: “I started this process planning to tell everyone, but…

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UK: Jail for Fife woman who extorted cash from innocent man in sex offender smear campaign

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[thecourier.co.uk – 4/19/21] A woman who threatened to brand an innocent man a sex offender to extort thousands of pounds and a TV set has been jailed for more than two and a half years. Sharon McDonald targeted the man on numerous occasions over a ten-month period. Previously at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, McDonald admitted extorting £2,700 and the electrical equipment out of her target. On Monday, Sheriff William Gilchrist sentenced McDonald to 31 months in prison. McDonald, who had already been remanded in custody since before Christmas, had her sentence…

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Canada: What a new report reveals about Manitoba sex offenders and victims

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[winnipeg.ctvnews.ca – 4/16/21] WINNIPEG — A Manitoba committee tasked with determining if the public needs to be notified about a sex offender has released a report giving the province a look at the offenders and the victims involved. The Community Notification Advisory Committee (CNAC) is a group of representatives from Manitoba Justice, corrections and Manitoba police agencies, along with medical or therapeutic practitioners and civilian members. The committee was created in 1995 to review sex offender cases referred to it by police agencies, and recommend if the public should be…

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UK: Anger as Tory MPs vote against register for stalkers and domestic abusers

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[theguardian.com – 4/16/21] The government is facing growing anger after voting against putting serial stalkers and domestic abusers on a national register, despite briefing they were likely to support the measures following the death of Sarah Everard. Conservative MPs voted against amendments to the domestic abuse bill on Thursday that would have placed serial domestic abusers and stalkers on the current Violent and Sex Offender Register (Visor). MPs also voted down House of Lords-supported amendments that would have given family court judges training on sexual abuse and provided greater protection…

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UK: Man who stabbed his neighbour to death in horrific case of mistaken identity where he wrongly believed he was a sex offender is detained indefinitely in hospital

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[dailymail.co.uk – 4/16/21] A man who stabbed his neighbour to death in an horrific case of mistaken identity has been detained indefinitely in hospital. Richard Matthews killed Paul Wells after wrongly believing he was a sex offender who raped him as a child, Bristol Crown Court heard today. The court was told how Matthews was convinced he was the victim of a child abuse ring aged 10 and accused Wells of historical abuse when he moved in next door to him in Highbridge, Somerset. Today, the defendant, 45, was sentenced…

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Australia: Judges push for more powers to control who is placed on sex offenders register

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[theage.com.au – 4/13/21] A group of County Court judges is urging the state’s law reform body to give judges more discretion over who is placed on the sex offenders register. In a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission, the County Court of Victoria said judges should have more powers to decide whether a convicted sex offender should be placed on the register and to expunge the registration of criminals who have previously been registered. The only current exemption is for offenders under 19, who can apply to be kept…

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UK: Shanklin sex offender had cartoon-porn depicting child sex abuse

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[countypress.co.uk – 4/4/21] A REGISTERED sex offender who had cartoon-pornography depicting child abuse on his hard drive has appeared in court. Hilary _______, 79, of Grange Road, Shanklin, appeared before the Isle of Wight Crown Court on Thursday. At a previous hearing at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on February 9, he admitted possession of a prohibited image of a child. Prosecutor, Kelly Brocklehurst, told the court Hilary _______,’ case was an unusual one, in that the images found were cartoon-like ­— pseudo images. He said Hilary _______,, subject…

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UK: In the courts: Andover father fined after paedophile confrontation

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[andoveradvertiser.co.uk – 3/26/21] A man who confronted a convicted child sex offender in Andover has been handed a fine after he did not complete community service. As previously reported by The Advertiser, Matthew Jamie Doyle was given a community order after he tried to ‘expose’ the convicted paedophile in June 2019, with a requirement to complete unpaid work. … The Advertiser reported at the time how Doyle feared he would be in prison at Christmas and also miss his son’s birthday. “I am going to be in jail for Christmas…

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Trinidad: Public to know sex offenders if new law passed

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[newsday.co.tt – 3/24/21] MEMBERS of the public will soon be able to learn the identities of any convicted sex offenders living amongst them, according to a new bill laid in the Senate on Tuesday in the name of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2021. The Commissioner of Police (CoP) shall maintain a Public Sex Offender Website, the bill mandates, which the public can access at the click of a mouse. Two years ago in February 2019 Al-Rawi had piloted the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2019 which…

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