The great Houdini escaped from The Chinese Water Torture Cell more than once. I thought only Houdini can make a great escape but I was wrong , wrong and wrong. I am still banging my head against the wall because I thought Houdini was invincible. Now, I realised even Cehl Meeah can do it, he is not Harry Houdini and will never be. I will not provoke a trial by bloggers on what Mr Meeah did or did not. However, there is a bleak and cancerous picture that should be highlighted , sexual offences cases particularly under 16.The Mauritian Press is obsessed with stories involving sex.They make a feast of this sad state of affairs by describing every single detail of a sexual assault. The Press is not the diary of Belle De Jour and should not be. Even today, the rape of a 14 year old girl was reported with the identity revealed through the back doors.
The number of sexual assault cases reported on a weekly basis sends chills down my spine. The scenarios being displayed are like the scenes from the movie SAW II with one individual down at every stage and a very grim end. Unlike Saw II , this is the true picture of the Mauritian Society. A very shocking and disturbing scene is slowly emerging from our society. We are approaching a very dangerous line where sexual offences are being normalised and a pool of paedophiles is growing. Since 2004, the number of sexual offences reported has been on the rise and I am particularly concerned with the number of sexual offences under 16. In 2008 , 156 cases of sexual offences under 16 were reported and only 9 juveniles were involved. The rest were adults. This is outrageous.
I have chosen the reported figures instead of figures showing the convictions for two reasons: most sexual offences are not reported because of the social stigma attached to it and our judicial system is corrupt. I am much more concerned about the rise of sexual offences under 16. A proportion of our adults has to go through sex therapy to become sexually responsible.Introducing a sex offenders register where all the sex offenders are named and shamed will be a way to keep the perverts away.However, the government should also provide a lot of support to the victims of sexual offences both pre and post trial. Victims of sexual offences should be cross examined through video conferencing rather than being in court. Tougher legislation will also help but families should inculcate their kids or teenagers to always be cautious and not to be afraid to report their attackers. However, striking conversation with our teenagers is fundamental to prevent a surge of sexual offences. It is important to explain to teenagers that there is no such thing as a league to become more promiscuous. And, the press should be more responsible by not disclosing the identity of a victim.
While Cehl has managed to do a great escape, I hope he is the last one. But, we all know what happened to Pavlov’s dog , the mere sound of the bell left the dog drooling.
Do you have the latest sexual offences or end of 2009 stats?
No, it is hard to get hold of the latest stats. But, I doubt that the number sexual offences has significantly dropped end of last year.