Sexual abuse cases in the Maldives have been off the scale ever since we can remember. Almost every day, even if it does not make the spotlight, there is a trickle of victims cowering in the corners of their rooms, some debating with themselves whether or not to scrub off the evidence under a cold running shower and a few unable to even comprehend what happened, because they are only a year and a few months old.

She is a day from turning 13 and standing before her is a 42-year-old asking her to “listen to him because he is older” and “knows” she will feel the same pleasure he is expecting to feel. In another room and completely different time period, a 16-year-old who has convinced herself that she is having a romantic affair with a 27-year-old is repeatedly telling herself that she is actually enjoying what did not feel right to her shuddering body and blank mind. Behind the doors of another neatly-painted and squeaky-clean house, a 70-year-old who uses the support of a cane to walk and frequently complains about back pain is telling a toddler who can barely speak that he will hurt her if she tells her parents of his invasion on her tiny body before “dressing her” for bed.

In most cases -in Maldives anyway-, almostEVERYBODYaround the victim knows. They have just practiced the negligent art of “brushing things off” because “what will the people say?”.

Right?

A shockingly common unspoken crime in our society, sexual assault has a encumbering stigma cloaking it, with its ugly truth being concealed under “societal status and integrity”. As such, while one out of every six individuals gets triggered to the ever-increasing stories of rape, most of them have been shunned by parents who have been more ashamed than infuriated when they were being molested. In fact, as disturbing as it is, chances are that most children have been molested by a close friend or family,NOTa stranger.

In the earlier days, people would hide their child’s suffering because “social stigma” was weighing them down and some fearful of the punishments that the offenders, or even the victim may face. Parents would turn a blind eye and deaf ear to their pleading children, unwilling to acknowledge the very obvious signs of abuse covering their small limbs. However, the general population began becoming more and more aware of the issue, with this, social stigma adhered to child sexual assault became dimming and today, there are people “willing to take matters into their own hands” if child sex offenders are released without being given adequate punishment.

We have “known” pedophiles walking freely on the streets of the capital, even in outlying atolls and yet, no body bats an eye to the fact that this is questioning the protection and safety of so many more possible victims. Especially the authorities.

In mid-January, one of the most appalling cases of pedophilia shook the nation where a child, at the mere age of one year and a few months, was subject to the most vile and vicious of human behaviors, from pedophiles of two generations of her own bloodline in Kanduhulhudhoo island of Gaaf Alif atoll.

The immediate facts provided by the Maldives Police Service are that the parents of the toddler, seemingly scarred for life, are both drug users and the 82-year-old great grandfather of the two-year-old is a known child sex offender with a record of disgusting pedophilia, as well as the grandfather. Police had said that one of these men was not in custody "because of old age." All l three men, including her father who faces negligence charges, were arrested a day after the news broke and after a video of their arrest was publicized, the public recoiled.

Other social media users commented that the man had the strength to rape someone thrice his age and when authorities showed up, did not even have the energy to walk a few steps. Since then, people held routinely protests to call for immediate action and the implementation of justice. Not long after, more cases of sexual assault against children began unfolding across the nation. It is unclear whether the earlier case prompted people to speak up, but it surely is progress. With public outcry having ensued afterwards, relevant bodies were quick to act, however, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) failed to give answers that could soothe the public. As such, it was revealed that authorities had “considered the offender’s age” and loosened the ropes on them. With this being said, the number of rape cases that have actually made progress through raising charges to prosecution have dropped, significantly.

Gender Ministry statistics revealed that a total of 27 children fell victim to sexual abuse during December out of the total of 134 violence cases reported against children. Since then, the parliament's Human Rights and Gender Committee has ordered relevant authorities to compile a registry of families who put their children at risk, which has since been presented to the People’s Majlis. This is among the few prompt actions that have been taken.

The Gender Ministry has been ordered to complete an audit of departments that take on child protection cases, island institutions have been ordered to seek out those with a record of child sex offense and begin monitoring them, courts have been mandated to complete trials into such cases within a given timeline, the Attorney General’s office has been sought to fast-track the witness protection law, relevant bodies have been ordered to begin reviewing and monitoring those released from courts and have a history of sexual assault and authorities have also been given a deadline to resume the child protection database.

With actions like this, we are hoping that the hesitant victims who cower under rocks find the courage to speak out, the hope remains strong that their trust in the authorities begins to revive. Despite the absence of access to justice for such a long period of time, more people have been vocal about their experiences and situations in recent days.

While it is about high time we stopped letting child sex offenders get away with their inhumane offenses, we can only hope that the implementation of the Child Protection Act on February 20 will do just that.