Attorney on bill: Treat young sex offenders differently

ATTORNEY Khadija Beddeau says efforts should be made to ensure children under 18 who unknowingly commit an alleged sexual offence are not unjustly penalised, and are able to learn from their mistake.

Beddeau, of the Public Defenders Department, made this suggestion at a virtual meeting with members of the Senate Select Committee on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) (No 3) Bill, 2021 on Monday.

While the legislation provides for children who are victims of sexual offences, Beddeau said, "We have not really addressed youth offenders at all."

She added this was a concern when it came to publicly sharing images of a sexual nature without the consent of the people whose images are captured on film or video.

"This whole concept of the virtual sharing of images of this nature is very common amongst the teenage age group. Those are persons under 18."

Beddeau suggested that before charges are laid against alleged youth sex offenders, "The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) must give approval for those charges."

She told committee members that rehabilitative remedies (such as counselling or psychological intervention) could be pursued for such offenders instead of punitive sentencing handed down by a court. The circumstances under which the images were taken, nature of the image, intellectual capacity of the alleged offender and the degree to which the image affects the privacy of the alleged victim would determine how alleged youth sex offenders are treated.

Beddeau wondered if there could be an under-reporting of voyeuristic behaviour by alleged offenders under 18. She said the legislation caters for upskirting and downblousing. Referring to similar legislation in the United Kingdom, Beddeau said it was recognised there that these are common offences by children, "by the use of mirrors on stairs (upskirting) or using cell phones to capture (images) down blouses of women (down-blousing)."

In this regard, Beddeau suggested that provisions in the legislation which refer to the use of technology to commit sexual offences should be expanded to include the use of mirrors.

Responding to questions from committee member Jayanti Lutchmedial, Beddeau said, "In terms of the intervention of the DPP's office, we are suggesting sometimes with youth offenders, when you dig deeper into what transpired, or the events that transpired, they do not always necessarily rise to the level of criminal conduct."

She cited a case where a 13-year old child takes an intimate image of another 13-year old as an example.

"Should that really rise to the level of criminal conduct, based on circumstances?"

Beddeau suggested giving the DPP the power to examine such situations before charges are laid against one child who is alleged to have committed an sexual offence against another child.

"You don't want two victims at the end of the day."

Head of the Coalition against Domestic Violence Roberta Clarke observed many victims of sexual offences are women and young girls. She wondered if the legislation dealt with men being the victims of such crimes.

Committee chairman Clarence Rambharat promised the committee would continue to engage stakeholders, even after it presents its final report on the legislation to Parliament on March 31.