A week after her young daughter was targeted by a suspected paedophile, a Central mother is petitioning Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to make the police list of sexual predators public.
The woman started the petition at around 10 pm on Wednesday as she said the entire experience has left her 11-year-old daughter traumatised.
The woman had pretended to be the child when a man began sending messages to the child’s phone last week Thursday.
The woman said many sexual predators were repeat offenders and she believed giving the public access to the list of offenders would assist parents in keeping their children safe.
“Stop protecting the paedophiles and allowing them to repeat these crimes to our babies. As a mother that experienced this first- hand in hurts me in my womb when I study my child was in the presence of this monster all alone and the outcome could have been so different... save our kids, protect our future,” she wrote on the petition.
Support for the petition has been slow in coming but the woman said she was not bothered by that.
“I am not worried because I know the support will grow once people know it’s out there because a lot of people have been telling me this is what is necessary. I am just making the necessary moves to get it done,” she added.
Yesterday, social activist Diana Mahabir-Wyatt said while she supported the move, the task to get a list made public was a trying one.
“We tried many years ago to get a sexual offenders register done up but concerns were raised over whether it would be a violation of the people's constitutional rights,” she said.
Mahabir-Wyatt said there were other factors that needed to be considered before a register could be implemented.
“The first thing is that the only time someone's name can go on that list is after they have been charged and convicted of a crime of a sexual nature.
“The second thing it is very traumatic for children to have to relive those memories constantly for the courts and many mothers do not want their children to be exposed to that, so many times the cases are not reported to the police.
“The third major factor is once police have the name and address of the offender, they just move and the police don't have the resources to follow up on everyone of these people,” she said.
She added she believed people with a criminal record for sexual offences should not be given taxi badges.
“In my opinion the trend of taxi drivers targeting young girls has been ongoing for the past 30-40 years and I think no one who is convicted of a crime of a sexual nature should ever be given a taxi badge.” she said.
Mahabir-Wyatt says she hopes the mother's efforts will inspire other citizens to think of preventative measures against sexual abuse.
“She is right in doing this but what we need to find is preventative measures. Maybe your readership can help with suggestions on how to we can go forward. This needs to be a conversation at national level.”
Calls, texts and Whatsapp messages were sent to the cellphone of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi but up to yesterday evening he had not responded to questions.