The case of Eleana has angered many people and rightly so. It is time for our leaders, ONG and each and every one of us to stop for a moment and reflect on the kind of society we are living in but mainly how to address the issues that affect our lives on a day to day basis.

The case of Eleana has angered many people and rightly so. This horrendous crime is another instance of how badly our society is. Our country, although liked by millions of tourists for its beaches, sun and sand, is not well spoken about when it comes to crime, corruption, human rights and inequalities. It is time for our leaders, ONG and each and every one of us to stop for a moment and reflect on the kind of society we are living in but mainly how to address the issues that affect our lives on a day to day basis.

Crimes in general is horrible in all its forms and shapes. However, crimes against children is even deplorable and extremely horrendous. As a society we need to try to understand why such an increase in the number of crimes against children. In my previous articles I raised concerns against paedophilia and sex crimes while children being victims. This was to sensitise people and to create awareness of how unsafe our children are.  It was also to prompt the authorities to look into how our legal system and other safeguards are in place to ensure our children are safe.

In many other countries we have the sex offenders’ register, where people convicted of sex offences are registered and their DNA stored. The register is not only to maintain a piece of documentation, it is primarily to monitor these risky individuals while living in the society. Individuals who have committed sex acts against children will have a number of conditions attached to their release in the community. One of them would be that they have to be supervised by a probation officer on a regular basis. They scrutinise these individuals especially their movement. These individuals wouldn’t be allowed to be with children without supervision. Such dangerous individuals would not be authorised to live near schools. All of these to ensure the safety of children and to prevent re-occurrence of their offence.

Paedophiles are people who require to receive a rigorous follow up if they are to be living in the society. They should be seen by psychologists and other health professionals. Whether a neighbour has the right to know if a paedophile lives next door has been an issue of heavy debate in the UK.  Sarah’s law (Sarah Payne) in the UK came into existence after a similar kind of atrocity committed against a child. We need to learn and act. If the government is serious about safeguarding our children, then it has to work with other committed professionals and ONG in toughening the law and to have robust systems in place. Our school curriculum would need to be reviewed to cover the risks that children are exposed to. In many countries police, health professionals, sexual educators and other relevant individuals are involved in educating young children of the dangers out in the neighbourhood.

Families have a great role to play. Being responsible is a start. It is unconceivable to leave children unattended and to trust strangers to ‘keep an eye’ on our little ones. We cannot blindly trust people because most of the crimes committed against a child is perpetrated by someone known to the child. As parents we have to take our responsibility seriously. In other countries social services are involved in the welfare of children. They do home visits and they have certain powers to act. A number of safety measures should be in place to protect our children.