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Barbados: Procedures and requirements for renewing a passport of a minor; laws to protect children from physical and sexual abuse and their application; agencies and/or shelters to assist abused children and their sources of income; police response to complaints of physical and sexual abuse from children

The information that follows is further to that found in Country Reports 2001 and Barbados' 12 September 1996 State Report to the United Nations' Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which is extensively referenced in BRB35234.E of 31 August 2000. Information on the issuance or renewal of a minor's passport could not be obtained by sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response.

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) maintains a database of Interpol member countries' national legislation on child sexual abuse. Information provided by Barbados for this database is as follows:

II. Rape

Section 3, part I ‘Sexual offences of rape' of the Sexual Offences Act 1992

"(1) Any person who has sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of the other person and who knows that the other person does not consent to the intercourse or is reckless as to whether the other person consents to the intercourse is guilty of the offence of rape and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life. ...

(3) Notwithstanding section 21, a person under the age of 14 is deemed incapable of committing an offence of rape."

III. Other forms of sex abuse

Section 4, part I ‘Sexual intercourse with person under 14' of the Sexual Offences Act 1992

"Where a person has sexual intercourse with another who is not the other's and who is under the age of 14, that person is guilty of an offence whether the other person consented to the intercourse and whether at the time of the intercourse the person believed the other to be over 14 years of age, and is liable on conviction of indictment to imprisonment for life. ... "

Section 5, part I ‘Sexual intercourse with person between 14 and 16' of the Sexual Offences Act 1992

"(1) Where a person has sexual intercourse with another with the other's consent and that other person has attained the age of 14 but has not yet attained the age of 16 that person is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term of 10 years.

– A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if that person honestly believed that the other person was 16 years of age or more and has reasonable cause for the belief; and

– if that person is not more than 24 years of age and has not been previously charged with the same or a similar offence."

Section 6, part I ‘Incest' of the Sexual Offences Act 1992

"(1) A person commits the offence of incest who, knowing that another person is by blood relationship, his or her parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, niece, aunt or nephew, as the case may be, has sexual intercourse with that person.

(2) It is immaterial that the sexual intercourse referred to under subsection (1) occurred with the consent of the other person.

(3) A person who commits the offence of incest is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment

(a) if committed by an adult with a person under 14 years of age, for life;

(b) if committed by an adult with a person 14 years of age or more, for 10 years;

– if committed between minors 14 years of age or more, for 2 years. "

IV. Child prostitution

Section 13 ‘Procuration' of the Sexual Offences Act 1992

" A person who

– procures a minor under 16 years of age to have sexual intercourse with any person either in Barbados or elsewhere; or

– procures another for prostitution, whether or not the person procured is already a prostitute, either in Barbados or elsewhere; or

– procures another to become an inmate of a brothel or to frequent a brothel, whether the person procured is already an inmate of a brothel in Barbados or elsewhere,

is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 15 years."

V. Child pornography

Section 3 of the " Protection of Children Act, 1990 - 36 "

"(1) Any person who-

a) takes or permits to be taken any indecent photograph of a child ; or

b) distributes or shows an indecent photograph of a child ;

c) has in his possession indecent photographs of a child whether of not with a view to their being distributed or shown by that person or others; or

d) publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows indecent photographs of children or intends to do is guilty of an offence.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person is to be regarded as distributing an indecent photograph if that person parts with possession of the photograph, or exposes or offers it for acquisition by another person.

(3) Proceedings for an offence under this Act shall not be instituted by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(4) Where a person is charged with an offence under paragraph b) or c) or Section 3, it shall be a defence for the person to prove:

a) that he had a legitimate reason for distributing or showing the photographs or having them in his possession, as the case may be ; or

b) that he had not himself seen the photographs and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect them to be indecent (Interpol n.d.).

Reports regarding the response of police to complaints of child abuse and child sexual abuse were not found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Several reports, however, give some indication of the extent of application of the laws mentioned above (IIN 2001; ECPAT International n.d.; The Advocate 27 Apr. 2002). First, a report on Barbados' Child Care Board, submitted to the Organization for American States' Inter-American Children's Institute, Uruguay, concludes with the following statement:

Despite the fact that some cases of sexual abuse are publicised, little or no prosecution of child violators materializes, therefore, there is a need for increased prosecution of perpetrators (2001).

Secondly, The Advocate reported that, during the launch of activities for Child Month (May 2002), the chairman of the Child Care Board, David Harper, stated that the Board is "angry about the hesitation with which some people vested with the power to deal with matters of child abuse approach them" (27 Apr. 2002). Harper is reported to have urged the justice system to "address the problem of child abuse with the same urgency as the matter of guns and drugs" (ibid.).

Finally, an ECPAT International report on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children states:

The Government has introduced mandatory reporting for suspected cases of child abuse. The Sexual Offences Act (1992) provides very harsh sentences for only one specific form of sexual abuse of children under 14. At the same time, other information seems to indicate that there are considerable difficulties in applying this legislation, in particular when a parent is reluctant to testify or allow the abused child to testify. The CRC Committee in its review of Barbados CRC report in 1996 says that existing legislation is still not sufficient to provide strong protection against child abuse, including sexual abuse (ECPAT n.d.).

The Director of the Child Care Board, the public sector agency which was responsible for drafting Barbados' 1996 State Report to the CRC, and the Chief Immigration Officer of the Government of Barbados' Immigration Department were unable to respond to questions posed by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

The Advocate [Bridgetown]. 27 April 2002. "Child Abuse Heartache." <http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/NewViewNewsleft.cfm?Record=7630> [Accessed 6 June 2002]

ECPAT International [Bangkok]. n.d. "Country Profile: Barbados." <http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_database/countries.asp?arrCountryID=15&CountryProfile=facts&CSEC=Overview,Prostitution&Implement=Protection&Nationalplans=National_plans_of_action&DisplayBy=optDisplayCountry> [Accessed 6 June 2002]

According to its Website, "ECPAT is a network of organisations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation." <http://www.ecpat.net/eng/index.asp> [Accessed 12 June 2002]

Interpol. n.d. "Legislation of Interpol member States on Sexual Offences Against Children: Barbados." <http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaBarbados.asp> [Accessed 6 June 2002]

Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), Organization for American States [Montevideo, Uruguay]. 2001. "Regional Governmental Congress on Sexual Exploitation of Children: Barbados: Child Care Board." <http://www.iin.org.uy/BARBADOS_ing.PDF> [Accessed 6 June 2002]

According to information found on its Website, the Inter-American Children's Institute is a "specialized organization of the OAS in children issues" which has existed for 75 years. It's "vocation has been and will always be to protect the welfare of all the children in the region, having as a conceptual reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child." <http://www.iin.org.uy/documento_75_anos_ingles.htm> [Accessed 11 June 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

World News Connection (WNC)

The High Commission for Barbados, Ottawa, was unable to provide information on the issuance and renewal of passports for minors.

Internet Sites including:

Amnesty International (AI)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)

United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network (UNCJIN)

United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF), State of the World's Children 2002

UNIFEM

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Treaty-Body Database

United Nations 2002 Special Session on Children, Various documents

US Department of State, Office of Children's Issues

Topics: Children-at-risk,