Smith says Incest Punishment Act needs 'more teeth'
December 15, 2006
OPPOSITION Member of Parliament Ernest Smith has called for 'more teeth' to be given to the Incest Punishment Act to encourage more responsible reporting by the media.
Smith's suggestion came during Wednesday's sitting of the joint select committee of parliament considering the Incest (Punishment) Act and the Offences Against the Person's Act.
According to Smith, measures should be put in place to ensure that the media did not report in ways that made it easy to determine the identity of the victim in the case. He said too often the way in which the story is carried left little guesswork as to who the victim was.
But committee chair and attorney general, Senator AJ Nicholson, told the committee that an amendment to the Evidence Act is now being considered by a team of experts, which would allow for the admission of evidence in court proceedings by live link. This, he said, would help in addressing the concern raised by Smith, even though it would prove expensive. In addition, Nicholson said the development of a victim's charter would also be helpful.
In the meantime, several concerns surrounding age limits were raised. These concerns arose from a provision in the Offences Against the Person Act legislation that seeks to abolish the presumption that a boy under the age of 14 years cannot be found guilty of rape, on the grounds that boys do not attain puberty until age 14.
Committee members while in agreement, pointed out that there was an anomaly as the 2004 Child Care and Protection Act states that no child under the age of 12 can be held criminally responsible for an offence....
Author: Alicia Dunkley
Source: Jamaica Observer
