Majilis approves recommendations in inquiry report on child sex abuse cases
It was passed with the votes of 74 members.
MP for Hinnavaru constituency, Jeehan Mahmood
The People's Majilis has passed the recommendations stated in the inquiry report on child sex abuse cases prepared by the Committee on Human Rights and Gender.
It was passed with the votes of 74 members.
The report was presented to the parliament floor by MP for Hinnavaru constituency and chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Gender, Jeehan Mahmood, who stated that the report was compiled due to the high prevalence of child abuse cases coming to the committee's attention.
Highlighting the high number of complaints regarding unresolved child abuse cases presented to the committee, Jeehan further added that the report is an initiative taken by the committee to research the number of resolved child abuse cases.
While the committee requested information from the Maldives Police Service (MPS), Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), and Department of Judicial Administration (DJA), with specific requests to the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services for details on the ministry's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and challenges to the ministry's work, only the Prosecutor General's Office provided information as per the request, revealed the committee.
Noting that 70.46% of police investigations into child abuse cases from the past 15 years took over a year to conclude, the committee highlighted that the long delay is not only an obstacle to justice for child abuse victims but also puts more children at potential risk.
Moreover, the committees report highlighted that the relevant authorities do not have a shared database, making it difficult to corroborate the information provided.
As such, the report presented a total of 4 recommendations. They include establishing and enforcing an inter-agency Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), updating and monitoring the child protection database in addition to making arrangements to regularly and accordingly amend the inter-agency SOP.
Further, the report instructs relevant authorities to share the recommendations of the child right's ombudsperson, newly introduced with the recent approval of the child rights' bill, within three months of the said bill coming into effect.
