A/HRC/19/5
strengthened and continuous training and education was being provided to other key
groups, equipping them with the necessary tools to effectively work towards the elimination
of gender-based violence, violence against children, and the reduction of HIV contraction
and transmission among those who had been affected by unwanted sexual encounters. The
Childcare and Protection Act and the Maintenance of and Access to Children Act both
addressed the issues of child abuse and neglect and made provision for the removal and
placement of child victims and the prosecution of parents and caregivers who failed in their
duties.
14.
Through new initiatives, victims of rape and other sexual offences would benefit
from a one-stop approach to treatment and response in a designated support location. Key
stakeholders in the health, legal, judicial and social services sectors would work together to
address the incidence of sexual offences and would incorporate all aspects of prevention,
response, treatment and social support. The establishment of a Sexual Assault Referral
Centre with trained nurses as forensic examiners, and the 24 Hour Crisis Hotline in
collaboration with 911 Emergency Services would provide necessary and effective
assistance to victims of rape, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect. Additionally, the
training of male gender advocates continued to be part of the Directorate’s activities and
would continue through partnerships formed with a number of concerned men who had
committed themselves to being proactive in the fight to end gender-based violence in all
forms.
15.
As to clarification on the lack of information on prostitution and trafficking of
women, Antigua and Barbuda had enacted legislation in 2010 for the Prevention of
Trafficking in Persons which provided, among other things, for compensation and medical
expenses to be paid to sexually exploited victims. A national coalition for the prevention of
trafficking in persons had been established in 2008. Training and education had been
provided with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration to key
stakeholders such as immigration officers, customs officers, coastguards and the police.
16.
As part of the Initiative and Programme for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons
within Antigua, the International Organization for Migration in collaboration with the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, had also piloted the manual Caring for
Trafficked Persons, which had been incorporated into the programme as a development
tool.
17.
Antigua and Barbuda had continuously voted against United Nations resolutions
calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, as such resolutions were inconsistent with
existing national legislation. Since 1873, capital punishment had been the automatic penalty
for anyone guilty of murder – that was until April 2001, when the Eastern Caribbean Court
of Appeal held in a landmark decision that the mandatory death sentence contravened the
constitutional provision which prohibited cruel and inhuman punishment. The judicial
directive which was being followed was that, after a conviction of murder by a jury, the
judge must hold a further inquiry and hearing to determine the appropriate sentence to be
imposed. There were seven inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison who had been sentenced to
hanging between 1996 and 2000, and who would be serving life sentences. The last three
executions occurred in 1988, 1989, and 1991.
18.
Antigua and Barbuda was conscious of overcrowding in its only prison facility.
Crown lands had been earmarked for the construction of a proper and multifaceted
correction facility, but funds had not been forthcoming for that project. The delegation
stated that Antigua and Barbuda must be forgiven for viewing its education, health, social
protection, judicial and infrastructure needs as priorities for its scarce budgetary allocations,
particularly in the economic downturn.
5
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