Sex attacks spark action on rights

Sex attacks spark action on rights

To provide better protection for victims of sexual violence and their families, the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection will propose a set of guidelines including a non-bail policy.

Pitikan Sithidej, the department's director-general, said the guidelines are designed to safeguard the rights of victims of sex crimes in the justice administration process.

The guidelines dubbed as the "Kalasin model" have been drawn up following a series of violent sexual attacks in Kalasin and will be submitted to the National Commission for Justice Administration Development (NCJAD) for consideration and implementation.

Among the proposals guidelines are a non-bail policy for suspected sex offenders and a restraining order to reduce fears for victims and their families.

If the convicted offenders have special professions such as teachers or are civil servants, their profession licences should be revoked and they should not be allowed to re-enter the public service, she said.

Ms Pitikan said another key element is that every province must have two female police officers to help handle sexual violence cases, she said. The female officers will be assigned to question victims who may feel uncomfortable being questioned by male police.

Ms Pitikan said the requirement for two female officers to question the victims is likely to be implemented first and transformed into a policy.

"It may not be possible to have two female officers at every police station, but it's possible for every province to have two. This should be helpful to authorities working on sexual violence cases," she said.

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