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New legislation for cyber-bullying

HeadlineNew legislation for cyber-bullying

Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte says that new legislation is in the works to protect the privacy of the victims

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Feb. 21, 2019– The surfacing of a shocking and disturbing video of a minor, dressed in her school uniform, engaging in a sexual act with an older man, has taken a toll on the life of the minor involved. Perhaps, though, equally shocking is that this young girl was not the only person to have her privacy violated in such a way over this past weekend.

The leaking of pornographic pictures and videos via any sort of technology has been widely deemed as cases of cyber-bullying. In the wake of these recent instances, Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte, who was on Stake Bank island attending groundbreaking ceremonies held yesterday by Stake Bank Enterprise Limited (SBEL) for the first ever cruise ship docking facility for Belize City,  spoke to the media about a new legislation that his ministry has in the works to protect the victims of cyber-bullying.

According to Hon. Peyrefitte, the AG’s office has been working on the legislation to “ensure that not only can we capture when it happens, or capture when these videos — especially with a minor — are put into the public or even made, but we have to make sure that we are able to tie it to a particular individual.”

Attorney General Peyrefitte said that it is important for this legislation to be airtight, since many times when people are suspected of leaking the images and videos, they claim that they were hacked, or that someone stole their computer, etc. Peyrefitte said that after someone is charged, the AG’s office wants to make sure the person does not go free of those charges on the basis of a technicality.

“So, we are working it. We’re fine-tuning it. We’re focused mainly on the ones involving minors because if a child is underage, not legally allowed to have sex, then that is extremely troubling for us. And we want to address that. In terms of adults, or consenting adults who may be willing to participate or accept videos of them engaging in that activity, if they don’t consent for it to be released, then we also have to look at that piece of legislation,” said the AG.

According to Hon. Peyrefitte, his office is working with the Ministry of Human Development, the Special Envoy for Women and Children, the Director of Public Prosecution, and CITO to develop a cyber-world policy to determine how to track and prosecute the persons who are releasing these pornographic videos.

When asked if it seems to him that Belize is a “bit slow,” when it comes to catching up with laws that have been put in place in other jurisdictions to prevent these kinds of cases, the AG responded that in jurisdictions where they were quick to put laws in place, the laws “were found to be full of holes.”

AG Peyrefitte said, “We don’t want to have a law just to have a law.” He argued that it is better to make sure that the laws put in place will ensure that the guilty person(s) go to jail.

Since the release of the video involving the teenager, she has since taken a leave from classes to seek help from a professional counselor. This decision made by the young lady and her family is supported by Minister of Education, Hon. Patrick Faber, who said that she needs all the support she can get, especially when her period of leave ends and she goes back into the classroom.

 

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