According to St. Lucia News Online, there was an attempted rape of a 93-year-old woman in Desruisseaux, St. Lucia last week. This incident occurred during a spate of rapes in St. Lucia.
Thankfully, this elderly woman was able to fight off a drunk man in his 50s; however, many victims of rape are not so lucky.
The Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes would like to remind the public that no one is truly safe from the depraved desires of rapists. Rapists will target men, women, and children regardless of age or appearance. The nonsensical stereotype of a rape victim being a scantily- dressed woman who is “asking for it” by her glamorous appearance has no grounding in reality.
The Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes would like to again call for the establishment of sex offender registries both locally and regionally in order to combat the scourge of rape and other sex crimes.
Proper policies to support and protect victims of sex crimes are also important in rehabilitating victims and increasing the number of successful convictions of sex criminals.
In addition to this, we encourage men, women, and children to learn self-defense techniques so that they are less likely to be at the mercy of rapists and other criminals. There are simple Karate or Jiu Jitsu moves that allow a small person to disable a much larger attacker if executed effectively.
We would also like to commend the work of the Association of Professional Martial Artists (APMA) in providing training to victims of sexual violence and to the citizens of Saint Lucia at large.
Finally, we would like to commend the Gros Islet debate team on its upcoming Youth Debate on the implementation of a National Sex Offenders Registry, to be held on Saturday, November 12 at the Gros Islet municipal building at 5:00 p.m.