Minister for Social and Urban Transformation Hon. Rawdon Turner has called for an urgent review of Antigua and Barbuda's child protection laws, revealing that the Family and Social Services Division has recorded more than 105 reports of child abuse so far this year.
According to Antigua.news, the Minister made the disclosure in a strongly worded statement following the sentencing of a 56-year-old man to three and a half years in prison for sexually abusing a five-year-old child. Turner described the case as leaving him "heartbroken, deeply disturbed and angry."
While acknowledging that judges are required to apply the law as enacted by Parliament, Turner argued that lawmakers bear a responsibility to ensure the legal framework reflects the true gravity of crimes committed against children.
"When sentences in child abuse cases repeatedly leave the public asking whether justice has truly been done, Parliament must examine the laws it has enacted," he said.
The Minister urged the public not to treat the figure of 105 reports as a mere statistic. "That is 105 children whose innocence has been threatened or stolen. One hundred and five families whose lives have been turned upside down," Turner said. "These numbers remind us that predators continue to prey on the most vulnerable members of our society."
Turner also drew a sharp distinction between the experience of offenders and their victims. While a convicted abuser may serve a defined prison term, he said, child victims often carry emotional and psychological consequences for the rest of their lives.
"A child who has been sexually abused does not serve a three-and-a-half-year sentence. That child serves a lifetime sentence," he said.
The Minister is now calling on Parliament to review the country's sentencing framework for offences against children, including the possibility of tougher penalties and broader legislative reforms aimed at strengthening child protection across the twin-island nation.
