WITH more than 400 children reportedly being victimized in 2011, statistics on the occurrence of child sexual abuse on the island are appalling, according to an initial report by the LaniKate Task Force.
The task force, created under the LaniKate Protehi Y Famagu’on-ta Act, aims to prevent and reduce child sexual abuse from occurring on-island. Since its inception in September of last year, the task force has brought together various government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies to discuss an action plan on how to accomplish the goals of the legislation.
In its first report submitted Tuesday to the Governor's Office and members of the Legislature, the LaniKate Task Force gathered data from various agencies on the rate of child sexual abuse in 2011.
According to the data:
- Guam Police Department reports indicate 74 arrests were made for criminal sexual conduct and 22 arrests were made for forcible rape.
- Data provided by the Attorney General's Office indicates 42 convictions of criminal sexual conduct and 126 criminal sexual conduct cases pending.
- In the juvenile division of the AGO, there were 22 juveniles charged with offenses relating to some form of sexual abuse.
- Referrals in excess of 1,800 were reported to the Department of Public Health and Social Services in which a total of 2,512 children were involved.
- Child Protective Services also reported 434 children were subjected to sexual abuse, and indicated there were 78 children referred to the agency for teen pregnancy.
Staggering
“These numbers are staggering ... there is no question that Guam is in need of an expansion in its current services and programs for victims, and that a more comprehensive system needs to be developed to ensure victims are provided with the full realm of therapeutic services needed for both short- and long-term treatment,” stated Attorney General Lenny Rapadas, presiding officer of the task force.
Just last month, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded the AGO $404,688 to enhance crime victim services on Guam.
In a June 20 statement by Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, the grant received by the U.S. DOJ would help various community organizations provide direct assistance to victims of crime, such as child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. These Victims of Crime Act Victim Assistance funds will be competitively awarded to local community-based organizations that provide direct services to crime victims.
Comments
More on uniforms
http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your-ideal/121-school-uniforms.gs
Haast[censored]
Tennesse & school uniforms :
http://www.ucdailynews.com/schools/Are-School-Uniforms-A-Good-Or-A-Bad-Idea-99797684.html
The Z man has a good arguement
Hast[censored]
I won't say when I graduated, but it's more than 20 years ago, and definitely before school uniforms. One of my brother's teachers here on island was having sex with him as a senior in high school.
The problem of sexual assault on Guam isn't in the schools. Sure, there are two current cases, and cases now and then of aides or others molesting young children at school. Which is another issue in itself because I don't believe these aides are properly checked before they're hired.
The vast majority of these assaults are in the home of the offender, victim or some other family member, by family members.
How did this story cause you to go off on a tangent about uniforms?
My belief is that if you allow kids to wear regular clothing to school, the teachers who would resort to this behavior will foam at the mouth even more. Another thing, dress codes (like most other laws on our island) are not enforced and kids will always find a way to get around them.
Is it a coincidence that this is just coming up and didn't when there was no uniform policy? I certainly disagree that the uniform is causing teachers to foam at the mouth or molest or even have consensual sex with these kids. Remember, we're talking teens in the two cases of teachers having sex with kids recently. Teens now adays have sex at such a young age and desire to do so. They see the teacher they want to have sex with as a prize. He favors me, he's so smart and gives such good advice. All the things they don't understand are happening happen. The teacher then takes advantage of that. The uniform doesn't make them submissive to the advances of their teachers. I don't think it matters what they wear, some people just have no respect for law, morality, themselves nor their victims. Sure they use their position of authority to prey on kids, but I don't believe the uniform is having the impact you suggest.
Google it...
School uniforms on teen girls are a major attraction for sexual predators.
School uniforms also tell the predator what school the student attends, so he can plan out his stalking, kidnapping, abuse, murder.
Make no mistake uniforms are a major factor in sex crimes against young girls.
hast[censored]
The fact is since the implementation of mandatory school uniforms a decade ago bullying has increased in our public schools, so has violence, so has sexual assault. Test scores have decreased. There has been no positive result from the mandatory school uniform policy. I suggest we respect the rights of children and allow them to dress themselves (with guidance) and lets see if things improve (I know of no cases of sexual assault in our schools prior to the mandatory uniform policy--is this only coincidence?).
When you put hundreds or thousands of kids together in one place all day, the field needs to be leveled as much as possible with those who have and those who have not, and also with the belief that if I dress better than you, I'm better than you. Not to mention kids will focus on their "swag" more than their books. I'm a simple thinker, you seem to be one who believes we and every child is entitled to whatever we want and however we want it. Seems to me to be the same mindset a pedophile or pervert has when it comes to sex.
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