Five school workers dismissed or suspended in last 10 years

Two school employees were dismissed over the past 10 years after being found guilty of sex-related offences and another three are suspended awaiting a court decision, Education Division director general Cecilia Borg said.

Dr Borg did not specify whether the employees were teachers, although she said that the two who had been dismissed had lost their warrants.

She was contacted after Children's Commissioner Sonia Camilleri was recently quoted as saying that the commission was hoping to discuss the setting up of a national register for paedophiles this year. Mrs Camilleri did not wish to say more about the issue before the commission discusses it.

Although Maltese legislation does not call for the provision of a sex offender register, a spokesman for the Education Ministry said the Education Division asks for police conduct certificates when recruiting teachers.

A spokesman for the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry said a paedophile register could be useful as a preventive measure and could be of particular assistance to child-related entities in the screening of personnel and volunteers.

The spokesman pointed out that when dealing with paedophiles, various options needed to be evaluated to make sure that children are protected.

"It is to the children's detriment when we fail to deal properly with paedophiles and this must be taken into consideration before evaluating any other cost," she said, adding that the possible introduction of a national paedophile register needed to be analysed in detail in the light of the experiences of such registers in other countries and their relevance to the local scenario.

The education spokesman said "appropriate action" is taken when a teacher or another school employee is reported to have committed a sex offence. He pointed out that schools have a child abuse policy which offers guidance on what they should do when such cases come to light.

"When a person is reported to have committed a sex offence, the matter is immediately referred to the police and the person is suspended," he said. The type of suspension depends on the case.

The family ministry spokesman said there are procedures to be followed for cases of people accused of child abuse. It was, however, practically impossible to have a foolproof system and there was always the possibility that paedophiles who have not been found out have contact with children.

"It is of utmost importance that parents, educators and carers inform children about sexual abuse in a manner that is appropriate to their age. Children are to be taught and encouraged to discuss the issue, primarily with their parents."

Asked who would have access to a paedophile register, she pointed out that other countries have either adopted public access or limited the access, under confidentiality, to entities and organisations providing child-related services.

If such a register is introduced through legislation, there should be legal provisions relating to the removal of persons from the register "under certain justified circumstances".

Legislation regulating such a register should oblige offenders to inform the authorities regarding their place or work, their place of residence and other significant movements. "Placing such responsibility on the persons listed can help facilitate the tracking of such offenders."

An important issue to consider is the protection of the victim's identity. "It is possible that when the paedophile is publicly identified, the victim is also easily identified, and this can cause the victim further harm and distress."

If a paedophile register were improperly used, there was the fear that it could cause unrest in communities. "There have been harrowing experiences abroad, where vigilant groups triggered violence and cases of innocent people who were mistaken for paedophiles."

Asked whether paedophilia was under-reported locally, the spokesman said Agenzija Appogg and the Child Protection Services had registered a significant increase in referrals of abuse in the last decade. This increase was a result of greater education and awareness.

"Children have been empowered to disclose sexual abuse. Children are disclosing sexual abuse nearer to its actual occurrence, which means they are suffering less from repetitive abuse which can have more serious consequences on the victims."