A Call for a Sex Offenders Registry, Reform of the Age of Consent, and Support for a Women’s Shelter
Dear Vincentians and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
For more than a decade, Leave Out Violence in SVG Association (LOVNSVG) and Rise Hairouna have advocated for the protection, safety, dignity, and fundamental rights of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, particularly our children and women.
Today, we renew that call with urgency.
For years, our organizations have advocated for three critical measures:
1. The establishment of a Sex Offenders Registry, accompanied by comprehensive programs focused on prevention, education, victim support, rehabilitation, monitoring, and public safety, a database etc.
2. The review and amendment of the age-of-consent legislation, including our proposal to raise the age from 15 to 18, while carefully considering appropriate close-in-age protections, often referred to as “Romeo and Juliet” provisions, to address consensual relationships between young people who are close in age.
3. Government support for the establishment and operation of a women’s shelter and resource center to provide safety, support, and services for women and families affected by domestic and gender-based violence.
These proposals are not new.
When the Unity Labour Party formed the government, we presented these matters to that administration. At the same time, we also engaged the then-opposition New Democratic Party. We believed then, as we believe now, that protecting children and women must transcend political affiliation.
The safety of a child is not a ULP issue.
The protection of a woman is not an NDP issue.
These are national issues. These are human-rights issues.
We therefore call upon the present Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, led by Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday, to address these proposals and to work collaboratively with nonprofit organizations, professionals, community organizations, law enforcement, social-service agencies, legal experts, educators, parents, survivors, and other stakeholders.
For too long, we have heard heartbreaking accounts of children experiencing sexual abuse, rape, molestation, exploitation, and other forms of violence. Every child who is harmed represents a life that may carry the consequences of that trauma for years.
We cannot normalize this. We cannot become silent. We cannot allow another generation to grow up believing that their protection is negotiable.
Legislation alone, however, is not enough.
A Sex Offenders Registry must be supported by strong policies and programs. Reform of age-of-consent laws must be carefully drafted to protect children from exploitation while appropriately addressing consensual relationships between young people close in age. A women’s shelter must be accompanied by professional services, confidentiality, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, safety planning, education, and pathways toward independence.
We need a comprehensive national approach.
Our organizations have conducted advocacy, petitions, polling, community outreach, and consultations over the years. We continue to hear Vincentians calling for stronger protections for children and women.
We are therefore saying to the Government: work with us.
We are not approaching this issue simply to criticize. We are prepared to sit at the table, share our experience, participate in consultations, assist with programs, and work with government and other stakeholders toward meaningful solutions.
As President and Founder of Leave Out Violence in SVG Association, together with our Board of Directors—Della Pope, Gennel Pope, Tyrone Mofford, and Andrea Weeks and our Executive.
We call for meaningful action toward:
A Sex Offenders Registry.
A comprehensive review of the age-of-consent legislation, including our proposal to raise the age from 15 to 18 with appropriate close-in-age protections.
Government support for a women’s shelter and resource center.
These initiatives must be accompanied by prevention, education, enforcement, victim services, professional training, rehabilitation, and community-based programs.
Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday and members of Cabinet, we ask you to demonstrate through action your commitment to the protection of the nation’s children and women. Where commitments were made while in opposition, we respectfully ask that those commitments now be addressed through consultation, policy, legislation, resources, and implementation.
Accountability is an essential part of democracy. Governments must be held accountable for the commitments they make to the people they serve.
Our organizations remain willing to work hand in hand with the Government, civil society, and the Vincentian people. This is not about political division. This is about protecting human beings.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is our home. Its children are its future. Its women deserve safety. Its families deserve support.
Let us focus on what matters.
Let us protect our children.
Let us protect our women.
Let us protect survivors.
Let us strengthen our laws and institutions.
Let us invest in prevention and education.
And above all, let us protect the future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The time for promises must be followed by the time for action.
On behalf of Leave Out Violence in SVG Association and Rise Hairouna, we respectfully call upon the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to act.
Protect our children. Protect our women. Protect our future.
Nailah John and the Board of Directors
President/Founder
Leave Out Violence in SVG
Rise Hairouna
