abused to contact her with their experiences of trying to have the abusers prosecuted.

She hopes to gather common problems associated with the prosecution of alleged abusers for a committee being established to address problems related to the law and sex assault on children.

Children's activists say the law, as it now stands, puts children at risk.

"There have been complaints for some time about how the `system' works for children who have been subjected to sexual assault,'' Ms Young told The Royal Gazette .

"This concern has been highlighted recently with the alleged sexual assault case of a six-year-old child. Some parents appear to have had difficulties getting convictions for the alleged perpetrators of sexual assault on their children and they are angry.'' In the recent case of the assault on the six year old, it was ruled that the accused man had no case to answer largely because there was no evidence to corroborate the young girl's testimony and the testimony had been inconsistent.

Ms Young fears these hurdles to successful prosecution will leave the Department of Public Prosecutions reluctant to tackle sex abuse cases involving children. "One passionate parent said on television that parents of children who have been sexually assaulted and were unable to get convictions should come out of the closet,'' Ms Young told The Royal Gazette . "That lady is right. We need to hear from her and other people who are aggrieved with the process so we can make changes.'' She added: "I would like to ask those parents to call me and we can get together -- at a quiet location to protect the anonymity of the children -- and discuss the problems encountered and I will take those concerns to the committee being set up to look at all the policies and procedures surrounding the sexual assault of children. We must make sure that the justice system treats victims, particularly children, fairly and we must protect our children from the inappropriate behaviour of adults.'' When the trial of the man accused of fondling the six year old was thrown out of court, children's activists spoke out about the dangerous message the decision was sending to the community. The girl's mother attacked the system for leaving children vulnerable.

"What the law is basically saying is that you can molest anyone ten and under,'' the girl's mother said.

The law states that if a child gives unsworn evidence -- as would most often be the case for a very young child because the court takes the position they do not understand the nature of an oath -- those statements must be supported by other independent testimony or physical evidence.

MP to help sex abuse victims Ms Young and other concerned child advocates want the legislation changed to better protect children.

"Mr. Tokunbo from the Department of Public Prosecutions said on May 23, that he will revisit the Evidence Act which is a step in the right direction,'' said Ms Young. "But it would be helpful to hear from the parents who have experienced obstacles in their path when they press charges -- they know where the problems lie and their input is invaluable.'' She added: "If these policies and procedures are not protecting our children and alleged perpetrators of sexual assault on children are being set free due to technicalities, we are allowing our children to be put at risk.'' Ms Young can be contacted on 236-6427.

HEALTH HTH