Child sexual offenders list digitised

The register of convicted child sexual abuse offenders has been digitised and published.

This is a list that must be made public under the Special Procedures Against Child Sexual Offenders Act. The government has been criticised for not updating the list, which was first released in 2018.

The register was digitised and published at a ceremony held at the gender ministry on Sunday.

The objective of digitising the register is to update the information, which was previously manually entered, immediately without delay and make it easily accessible to the public, the Family Protection Authority under the gender ministry said in a statement.

The Prosecutor General's Office has provided technical assistance to the ministry in updating the list.

Once the court issues a judgment, the information about the judgment is automatically, immediately provided to the ministry

The list, as it stands, was designed by the IT staff of the Prosecutor General's Office in accordance with the technical advice and guidance of the Child and Family Protection Service.

In the list, criminal information can be filtered by seven different filters. 

Speaking at Sunday's ceremony, gender minister Aishath Mohamed Didi said the work of digitising the register of child sexual offenders is a start and the work should be strengthened with the Prosecutor General's Office and the Correctional Service. She said the digitisation of the register is an important task for the children who have been abused and their families.

Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem also said this is just the beginning. Strengthening the register will ensure that all relevant institutions publish information in a consistent manner, he added.