Edmond Campbell, Senior News Co-ordinator
JAMAICANS WILL in the next three months have the opportunity to examine and make further recommendations on the Draft Victims' Charter officially launched yesterday by the Ministry of Justice in Kingston.
Between August and October, the Justice Ministry will pilot the document across the country to solicit views from members of the public on issues contained in the charter.
The document addresses the needs of victims of crime with a view to achieving symmetry in the perceived imbalance between the protection of the rights of offenders and the human rights of their victims.
Following a national discussion on the charter, Government is setting a year-end deadline to sign off on the final policy.
The process dates back to 1998 with the establishment of the Victim Support Unit, followed by the Justice Protection Act in 2001.
In 2005, the Victim Support Unit provided services to more than 8,000 victims of crime, with more than half that number representing new cases and the majority were women.
In his remarks at yesterday's launch of the Draft Victims' Charter at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, A.J. Nicholson, said attacks on women and children have become so heinous in Jamaica that arrangements for special treatment must be in place for child victims, victims of sexual offences and other vulnerable groups.
"Two thousand three hundred and fifty-three children and youth under 24 were victims of major crimes in 2005. Over 56 per cent of these victims were females."
EXISTING PROVISIONS
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is chairing a sub-committee of Cabinet to review existing provisions for the protection of the nation's children, with a view to strengthening these provisions and the penalties for breaches and ultimately, strengthen the charter.
Other members of the sub-committee include, the Attorney General; Minister of Education and Youth, Maxine Henry Wilson and Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Assamba.
The draft charter will deal with issues such as compensation for victims and the role of the state in the funding of any scheme for compensation; the protection of children and other vulnerable groups by the state, among others.
