A NATIONAL strategy and action plan dealing with paedophilia and the sexual molestation of minors cannot be delayed any longer, the Commissioner for Protection of the Rights of the Child said yesterday.
“I will insist on a measure, that I raised for discussion a year and a half ago, that at long last a national strategy and an action plan must be drafted about what the state will do to confront this tragic phenomenon,” said Commissioner Leda Koursoumba. “This is something that cannot be delayed any longer.”
The island was left stunned last Thursday by the news of two separate cases of child molestation and rape involving at least 11 underage girls.
In the first case a 42-year-old man is suspected of indecently assaulting at least eight girls aged six to 12, between November 2009 and earlier this month. The man has been remanded in custody for eight days.
The second case involves a 38-year-old Greek national who was arrested in connection with the rape, corruption and sexual exploitation of an 11-year-old girl he met on social networking site Facebook. Early police reports said the man had confessed to having sexual contact with the girl.
Yesterday, the man was remanded for eight days by Larnaca District Court to help police with their enquiries into cases of sexual abuse since 2008 involving three underage girls, all of whom he is said to have met initially via the internet.
During a closed court session, the man is reported to have admitted to the accusations made by a 13-year-old girl who has already given a statement to the police, but denies involvement in the other two cases – involving girls aged 11 and 15 – for which the alleged victims have not yet given statements.
Speaking to reporters following her meeting yesterday morning with DISY deputy Stella Kyriakidou, Koursoumba said that in her capacity as the legal guarantor of children’s rights on behalf of the state, she would act as co-ordinator for identifying and planning the necessary steps to be taken. Kyriakidou said that she had proposed the co-ordinating role for Koursoumba, “because dealing with the issue involves several Ministries and several services”.
Koursoumba said that one of the steps needed urgently is to update the law. “This kind of abuse of children should be a criminal offence that can be proved easily, so that we don’t have to try to establish whether or not there was consent, or if there was full sexual intercourse, as the Cypriot criminal code demands today.” She added that currently, this “is where very often the case collapses, and afterwards there is an outcry directed at the courts.”
Referring to the fact that in other countries, inciting a minor, involving a minor in any kind of sexual activity, or simply caressing a minor are all criminal offences despite being much less serious than rape or sexual intercourse with a minor, Koursoumba said: “I think that any kind of molestation – including sexual – caressing a child or showing him/her one’s genitals organs should clearly be a criminal offence”, she said, adding that her Office would be studying the UK’s 2003 law dealing with sexual offences against children, especially those under 13 years of age.
Kyriakidou had asked for the meeting with Koursoumba to discuss her suggestion of making the names of convicted paedophiles public by law.
While welcoming the recent commitment by Justice Minister Loucas Louca to introduce such a sexual offenders’ catalogue – subject to approval by the Council of Ministers – the child’s rights Commissioner said that there were still human rights and personal data issues to address in this regard.
“We will be looking at all of this, but we will also be guided by what is happening in other countries; as we know, in several European countries, after release from prison, their names are given at least to a limited number of persons, such as the police, the local authorities, the victim’s family circle and maybe the victim’s local community,” she said.
EU monitoring social networking companies’ child safety policies
On February 10, 2009, 17 leading internet companies signed a European agreement (incorporating seven Principles) to improve the safety of under-18s who use social networking sites. A year later, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding published a report on the implementation of the Principles on the 25 sites run by the signatories.
The findings show that although most of the sites provided safety tips, and empower minors to deal with potential online risks, “there has been a less systematic implementation of other equally important measures designed to protect privacy.”
Reding said that she was pleased with the initial response to the EU’s call; “however, I expect all companies to do more… The internet is now vital to our children, and it is the responsibility of all to make it safe.”
