Early education and awareness is key to protecting children from sexual abuse, according to Family Centre’s executive director.

Martha Dismont said treatment of convicted offenders was the next most important step to reduce reoffending.

However, the charity would not advise naming sexual offenders because this “has not been shown to be the best method of keeping the public safe”.

Ms Dismont’s comments come after the conviction of a former police officer for the sexual exploitation of his daughter and incest, which sparked a debate in the media about the laws governing sexual offences, the public naming of convicted offenders, and victims’ rights.

Two local charities have backed Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves’s suggestion that Parliament should consider revisiting the Island’s sexual offences laws.

The Island’s media council is to discuss the naming of sex offenders at its next meeting and the parliamentary group investigating how Bermuda deals with sex offenders said it could put forward new measures to tackle child sex abuse this year.

Sharing her thoughts, Ms Dismont said: “Child and adult sexual abuse is a horrendous violation of one’s being and personal dignity.

“Early education and awareness on how to keep children and others safe from potential perpetrators is best.

“To particularly protect our children from such offences, we must be proactive in educating our parents and young people.” Ms Dismont said the charity Saving Children and Revealing Secrets (Scars) should be congratulated for the work it does to raise awareness of child sexual abuse and to educate the community about preventive measures.

According to Ms Dismont, the meaningful treatment of convicted offenders is the next most important action to reduce reoffending.

But she added: “Naming sexual offenders has not been shown to be the best method of keeping the public safe. We would not advise it, particularly, in Bermuda.”

After the former police officer was convicted, MP Mark Pettingill, chairman of the joint select committee on sex offenders, told The Royal Gazette that a sex offenders’ registry remained on the books, but that the group was still debating how much information should be public and who should be included.

Ms Dismont said that research and Family Centre’s experience had shown that when it comes to naming convicted offenders, registries or naming and shaming does not really improve public safety.

“It doesn’t address the root of the problem,” Ms Dismont said. “They just make people feel safer and in control.”

Instead, focus needs to be placed on the treatment of offenders, she said, as well as educating the public on what they can do to keep themselves and their families safe.

“If the goal is protection of other people, naming offenders will not truly do this, as we know that most offenders turn out to be trusted members or friends of the family. So, unfortunately, this is a false premise of safety and security.” The charity believes the Bermuda Police Service should maintain a registry of sexual offenders and also have a mechanism in place to track and monitor the whereabouts of offenders in the first year after their release from prison.

Proper treatment for sexual offenders should also be mandatory before their release from prison, Ms Dismont said.

After the former police officer was convicted, Sheelagh Cooper, the founder and chairwoman of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, called for victims of sexual offences and their parents to be given the right to waive their anonymity, which would allow for sexual offenders to be publicly named. There is no provision in the law that allows this.

But Ms Dismont said victims and their parents often did not realise the long-term negative and retraumatising effects that being exposed as a victim of a sex offence can have.

“In the heat of the moment, a victim may say, ‘yes, name the offender’, because they feel like shaming them and making them feel as horrible as the perpetrator made the victim feel,” she said. “However, once this moment is over, the victim will have to live with being exposed to the public.”

Ms Dismont said treatment and recovery for a victim must include reframing themselves as a survivor and no longer a helpless victim.

“Having the world potentially know your past story may be a constant reminder of the trauma — a constant reminder that one was a victim,” she added.

Shaming offenders publicly would also decrease the likelihood of any chance of healthy reintegration back into society, once they are released, according to Ms Dismont.

“The recent introduction of restorative justice principles within the criminal justice system is critical to developing more restorative practices overall in our society,” she added.

“Offenders should be subject to appropriate consequences and be given the opportunity to redeem their actions. It makes for a much healthier society.”