Publicise SORs? Are there any other options?

According to a Gleaner article, “Opposition spokesperson on Youth and Gender Affairs Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has expressed strong concern and disappointment that the long-promised Sex Offenders' Registry is not yet up and running.” The Office of Children Registry (OCR) has recently reported that the child abuse rate has increase by about 40 per cent. Now, there is a growing concern about this issue because there are persons who know about these cases and are not saying anything. What can be done to reduce child abuse? What can be done to break the ‘silence?

Will the publication of a Sex Offenders Registry (SOR) help in the reduction of child abuse? 

According to the opposition spokesperson, everyone has the right to know if his neighbour is a sex offender. She further states: “Yes, I think neighbours and communities should be aware of who the sexual offenders are. We need this in the protection of women and girls, the elderly, as well as our boys.” However this has generated some concerns by human rights activists, for according to them, “the publication of sex registries has proven to be an ineffective deterrent to offenders. Only the United States and South Korea now publicise sex-offender registries, and neither of these countries has reported a decline in sex offences as a result of community notification.”

Publication of SORs has its disadvantages, and since countries which have publicise it has reported no decline in sexual offences, should we follow through with this idea? If it is that we do not publicise SORs, what are the other alternatives? This issue must be addressed swiftly, it cannot be that children’s future keep being destroyed by these offenders. If we ought to know whether or not we should publicise the SORs, we need to examine the issue, weigh the pros and cons then determine if the pros outweighs the cons. If the latter holds true, then I suggest that we find other means of addressing the issue, we cannot run with an idea because it ‘sounds good’ without noting its long term implications. What is the point in having a buying a machine that does not work? However, because it does not work in USA and South Korea does that mean it will not work in Jamaica?