Are we safe? |31 March 2021

Being sexually harassed is one of the cruellest fates a person can suffer; it does not only cause physical damage but an array of emotional and psychological damage as well. Children who are sexually abused endure psychological trauma that negatively impacts their brain development and functionality which may lead to a lifetime of psychopathology, so it is vital that we protect our children and all vulnerable members of society from sexual predators.

On March 18, a man charged with sexually assaulting two girls, aged 14 and 7, was released by the judge on the conditions that he will hand in his travel documents to the court and pay a fine of R50,000 if he repeats such a despicable offence. This has caused outrage in our society, especially in young women and men who are demanding that such offences are more severely and strictly punished.

Several people from different age groups were asked their opinions on the treatment and punishment of sexual predators in Seychelles and whether or not they feel the laws and legal consequences pertaining to sexual predators keep them safe. Here are a few answers:

“Not even! The system is rigged. It favours the powerful who think they’re entitled to another person’s assets, and its worse when that is someone’s body. They don’t even begin to look at the emotional and psychological trauma that comes with being sexually abused and that discourages victims from ever coming forward which is why so many cases are unheard-of or swept under the rug. We do not feel like the law backs us up and the latest case just proves so. It doesn’t have to be a gruesome case where an old man rapes a baby for it to be taken seriously because that same man could be stopped from ever molesting again if only the system had listened to the 30-year-old woman or man who had filed a sexual assault report against said man,” said 20-year-old Rania Barbe.

“They are not doing the children and women of Seychelles justice. These girls will have to wake up and live with the horrors of what this man did to them. There is no respect, nor compassion for the abused. The case from last time, where the 3 men were sentenced for abusing over 200 girls during a period of 5 years still baffles me, they got flimsy sentences and will be out by the decade, and this to me is unacceptable. These men are supposed to be locked away for life, I cannot fathom how a grown person could ever commit such atrocious acts to anyone, let alone a kid, this is a disease and a person known to be sexually abusing children, especially, should not be allowed to walk the streets of our country. What makes you so sure they won’t do it again? If there is a petition to sign I am in, this cannot go on, it has reached an unacceptable point and something must be done,” expressed a determined Cheriff Benstrong, 18 years old.

Aaron Dogley, an 18-year-old young man, also expressed his disappointment in the matter while answering these questions.

“Exploitation, abuse and molestation of children are crimes that are unforgiveable, and anyone charged with such crimes should not be allowed to roam free. This sort of ‘slap on the wrist’ method of dealing with child abusers only leads to an increase in these sorts of cases, so if the jury’s verdict from the recent case proves anything it is that these crimes are not being punished accordingly. As a male I feel less likely to be a victim, but I have a mother, little sister, cousins, aunts, people I love and wish to protect, as we all do, so how can the people who let these criminals walk free promise their own loved ones a safe environment when they let the biggest threats to their safety frolic in their community? There should be no compromises to such a deplorable offence, any action that is not the necessary action is the same as no action,” said Aaron.

I feel it is also important to note the opinion of a 55-year-old man who is concerned about this matter.

“I believe that there are strict enough laws in place for these unspeakable acts, but it is not always that they are applied in the right ways. The law is there, all we need is better application and a more strict justice system,” explained John Doe.

Majority of the public believe that the laws are too lenient, not only for sexual offence cases but for most cases, and that these laws do not keep them safe.

It is important we understand why such criminals are released into our community for it does not do to protest on misinformed grounds. If an arrest is made and someone is not held on remand but released, it can mean there is not enough evidence against this person to hold them so it would be an infringement on their rights. It is the duty of the police to conduct investigations to bring such cases back to court and it is clear that they need to improve on their efficiency and strategy because the public is not satisfied.

Such cases require the utmost attention and dedication because the longer it takes to lock these dangerous people up the more time they have to commit more ungodly acts.

Read what the law says about the matter below, this was taken from the SEYLII eGREY book version of Seychelles’ Penal Code, Chapter 15 section 135.

Sexual interference with a child

 135. (1) A person who commits an act of indecency towards another person who is under the age of fifteen years is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for 20 years:

Provided that where the person accused is of or above the age of 18 years and the act of indecency is of a kind described in subsection 2(c) or (d) of section 130(2) the person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not less than 14 years and not more than 20 years:

Provided also that if the person is convicted of a similar offence within a period of 10 years from the date of the first conviction, the person shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than 28 years.

Iza Amade