The Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) Project, in collaboration with the High Court of Justice in Antigua and Barbuda, created history on Monday when it officially opened the Sexual Offences Model Court (SOMC).
The JURIST Project is a multiyear regional Caribbean judicial reform initiative, funded under an arrangement with the Government of Canada, and being implemented by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Located in Antigua’s capital, St John’s, the SOMC is intended to help remedy the deficiencies in the court’s current handling of sexual offence cases. These shortcomings were identified in a 2016 Baseline Study commissioned by the JURIST Project and undertaken by UN Women.
The study identified deficiencies such as: inordinate delays in completion of cases; lack of data collection to form the basis of monitoring and accountability for the courts’ performance and quality in responding to sexual offence cases; insufficient coordination between the courts and other agencies that provide services to sexual assault complainants; and sexual assault complainants refused to pursue cases due to fear of re-victimization and re-traumatization by the very process of seeking justice.
The deficiencies in the court’s handling of sexual assault cases contribute to high attrition rates in the justice chain for sexual offences as well as to sexual offences having very low conviction rates in comparison to all other crimes.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), Dame Janice Pereira, explained that Antigua and Barbuda was selected as the site of the model court because of the strides that the country has made in addressing sexual abuse cases. She added that the specialization of the court will help to improve the overall efficiency in the judicial system.
“There can be no doubt, given the prevalence of sexual offences in our region, that the establishment of a specialist court to treat with such offences would improve the capacity of the court to deliver gender-responsive and customer-focused services to the people we serve,” the Chief Justice stated.
She explained that the court will have the ability to operate with enhanced video and audio links for the conduct of any trial “in an atmosphere which promotes fairness rather than one where a witness may feel lost and afraid.
