Prime Minister Gaston Browne says hearing directly from women who were sexually abused as children has reinforced his determination to see stronger punishment for offenders and greater safeguards for young people in Antigua and Barbuda.
Browne said several survivors have spoken or written to him since he began publicly addressing sexual offences, sharing accounts of abuse they endured during childhood and describing how those experiences have continued to affect them years later.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, the prime minister said the accounts highlighted the lasting emotional and psychological consequences of childhood sexual abuse.
He expressed particular concern about cases in which victims live with the effects of abuse long after offenders have completed relatively short prison sentences and returned to society.
Browne’s remarks come after the House of Representatives approved changes to the country’s sexual offences laws, including tougher punishment for sexual intercourse with children under 16. The offence can now carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin, who introduced the amendments in Parliament, also expressed concern about sexual offences against children and the punishment handed down to perpetrators.
Browne has argued that imprisonment alone may not be sufficient for some offenders.
He again raised the possibility of chemical castration for people convicted of serious sexual offences and surgical castration for persistent repeat offenders. The prime minister has presented the measures as options he believes should be considered rather than policies that have already been adopted.
Browne also warned that the danger to children does not always come from strangers, saying greater attention must be paid to sexual abuse occurring within households and families.
He said adults have a responsibility to identify potential threats and intervene to protect children.
While much of the public discussion surrounding child sexual abuse focuses on girls, Browne stressed that boys are also victims and require the same protection.
He called for communities to take greater responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable children, arguing that tougher laws must be accompanied by vigilance and intervention to prevent abuse.
Antigua Newsroom
