Category: International

India: ‘My crime is I fell in love’: should India rethink tough laws on underage sex?

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Source: theguardian.com 8/24/21 Laws intended to tackle child abuse are resulting in young men in consensual relationships being imprisoned. Activists argue a more nuanced approach is needed Mani*, 21, began dating Noor*, 17, two years ago. They couldn’t see each other during the Covid lockdowns, but when restrictions began to ease, they would meet on the deserted banks of a canal in a small town in Tamil Nadu. The couple hoped to marry one day, but then Noor fell pregnant, and life turned into a nightmare. Two months ago, Mani…

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Australia: Up to 3 years in prison for not reporting a “belief of sexual offending against a child”

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Source: lexology.com 7/7/21 In brief – important development in Queensland’s child protection laws will take effect in term three. Recently, the Queensland Government, through the Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) (Amendment Act), has made several key amendments to the Queensland Criminal Code to provide greater protection to children from sexual abuse. In particular, the Amendment Act will, from 5 July 2021: make it an offence for any adult not to report a belief of sexual offending against a child by another adult…

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UK: Declan Lancaster started killer blaze after wrongly believing another man living there had a sex offense conviction

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Source: sunderlandecho.com 7/2/21 A killer who sparked a deadly fire at his hostel after he wrongly concluded a man who lived there had a sex offense conviction in his past, has been jailed for life. By Karon Kelly Friday, 2nd July 2021, 2:49 pm Declan Lancaster, who had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs, started a blaze in a linen cupboard at Manor House in Sunderland on November 3, 2018, because he wanted to “scare and frighten” another tenant. Newcastle Crown Court heard as the flames took hold, Patryk…

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Trinidad and Tobago: AG proposes two registries for people with a sex offense

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UPDATED 6/16/21: T&T Senate approves law to allow public to access sex offender website [radiojamaicanewsonline.com – 6/16/21] Source: newsday.co.tt 6/16/21 The Attorney General has proposed 22 amendments to the Act to amend the Sexual Offences Act, Chap. 11:28. Chief among these are the creation of two registers of people with a sexual offense. Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, AG Faris Al-Rawi said the bill intended to create two registers: the National Sex Offense Register, which would be private and for the use of law enforcement only, and the Public…

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Pakistan: Standing committee approves chemical castration of sexual abusers

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[thecurrent.pk – 6/5/21] National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice has approved chemical castration, which falls in the Criminal Law bill. As per the Criminal Law Bill 2020, if the accused commits the crime again after serving a life sentence, he will be sentenced to chemical castration. Under this law, special court, anti-rape crises cell, and special committee would be set up to hear rape cases and registered complaints. … Regarding chemical castration, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah said it is inhuman under the law. The law for…

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UK: Irvine Team Shades members charged for ‘disturbance’ of person convicted of a sexual offense

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[irvinetimes.com – 6/2/21] Two members of an Irvine peadophile hunting group have now been charged after a person convicted of a sex offense was led away from a house by the hand. A 28-year-old man was arrested this week and later charged following an alleged disturbance in Aberfeldy Terrace back in April 27. A woman aged 30 was later charged for alleged stalking yesterday [Tuesday, June 1] with both now due to face the charges in court. Read the full article  

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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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