Those who work with children are responsible to keep them safe. The Protection of Minors Register, introduced in 2012 and becoming law when the Protection of Minors’ Act came into force, is an essential tool in the battle to safeguard children from harm through listing, by direction of the courts, the names of those deemed a danger to them.
Convictions that can lead to inclusion on the register cover cases of rape, having sex with minors, child abduction, prostitution, pornography, trafficking in minors and the harassment and neglect of children. These are heinous crimes against those who are among the most vulnerable. A civilised and loving society should demonstrate the most fundamental commitment and duty of care for them.
Once listed in the register, a person cannot work or hold any position within an organisation involved in the education, care, custody and welfare of minors be they teachers, doctors, nurses, youth workers, police officers, voluntary workers, priests or social workers if s/he has transgressed. However, as important as those whose full-time professions bring them directly into contact with children are the many voluntary organisations – such as children’s clubs, the scouts and guides, church and other social foundations – who work with children.
By law, all organisations –public, private or voluntary – must ensure that anyone working with minors is cleared with the register before engagement. Hitherto, voluntary organisations have had to pay €15 for every request for information from the register and €3.75 for every notification to verify whether one of their employees or volunteers featured in the list.
Although the costs may not appear onerous, the government felt they placed a financial burden on voluntary organisations that engaged people to work with minors and may sometimes have hindered them from complying with the law, thus potentially endangering children’s and young people’s safety and well-being.
The Minister for Justice has, therefore, decided that, in future, voluntary organisations will no longer be required to pay the fee to access the Protection of Minors Register and verify whether prospective employees or volunteers have any criminal history related to child abuse. Given that, since 2015, under 900 such applications have been made, the loss of revenue to the Treasury is clearly minor. Moreover, the encouragement to ensure compliance with the law in this vitally important field outweighs the financial considerations.
Waiving the fees should ensure full adherence with the law by all voluntary organisations and there should be no excuse for non-compliance, thus ensuring greater protection for children.
As importantly, voluntary organisations will also be supported by guidance on how to put in place the right response mechanisms for children’s protection concerns and to be able to address referral mechanisms to the appropriate authority whenever necessary.
This would be greatly aided if accessing the list were made easier, a matter which parents and educators have long requested. The Lisa Marie Foundation, an NGO aimed at safeguarding young people from harm, has called for the register, presently administered by the courts, to be accessible online to authorised people involved in sensitive workplaces where employees (or volunteers) have a duty of care towards children. This seems a most sensible solution which the Justice Minister should take immediate steps to implement.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial