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ST. PETERS--A sixteen-year-old girl, supported by her family and friends, has started an initiative to encourage government to take action to better protect children and young people from sexual predators.
The aim of her petition is for government to offer better protection of children and young people by taking a number of measures, including a publically-accessible sex offenders register.
"In St. Maarten, the rights of convicted sex offenders seem to take precedence over victims' rights," says the front sheet of the petition. "Unlike other parts of the world, communities in St. Maarten have no knowledge as to who they [convicted sex offenders – Ed.] are and where they are. A public register is a right and a national duty that is long overdue."
The petition goes on to set out a list of demands, some of which are aimed of improving safety in public transport, such as a ban on tinted windows on buses and good lighting inside buses in the evenings.
Other measures are aimed at bringing awareness about child sexual abuse, addressing mental health and other social issues that can be linked to child sex offences, monitoring child pornography and stiffer penalties
The petitioners also demand the establishment of a sex offenders register in such a way that parents can become aware of the location of paedophiles and a more thorough screening system to which all people working with children must be subjected.
Mhakeda Shillingford, a promising young woman who is vice-president of the Youth Parliament of St. Maarten and a member of the Kingdom Youth Parliament, had a terrifying experience in December when a bus driver kept pestering her for her name and telephone number. He did not cease his behaviour when she told him she was only 16, and then refused to let her get off the bus unless she provided her details.
At some point, the driver even touched her, not in a particularly serious manner, but it was enough to scare the 16-year-old, whose phone call to a parent eventually made the driver stop.
When Mhadeka's mother, Brenda Maynard, arrived, they waited for the bus to re-appear so they could identify the driver. The man, who was in his 30s, was arrested, but was released later and Mhakeda and her mother were informed that technically he had not acted in contravention of the law, as the touching could not be proven to be sexual.
"I have always told my children not to be a victim," said Maynard, who has been guiding her daughter in the process of turning a bad experience into positive action. "At the time, someone said on Facebook, 'They messed with the wrong child.' But in a way, they messed with the right child," said Maynard, referring to the positive outcome her daughter is aiming to achieve.
A victim, Mhakeda is not. The strong young woman reiterated, "My situation was minor in comparison to what others have been through. But when this type of thing happens, people feel that if they speak up, they will be victimised."
It is important that this petition is not aimed in particular at the individual who harassed Mhakeda, Maynard stated. Rather, the petition is about general measures aimed at keeping all children safe. Mhakeda and her team aim to collect 10,000 signatures before the petition will be presented to Parliament.
Peggy Ann Dros, a friend of the family and a mother herself, supports the initiative. "I am a mother of three sons," she said. "Recent developments have made it clear that paedophilia and sex offences are still on the rise. Something must be done to protect our youths. It is necessary that paedophiles are recognised and parents know where they live and work. The time to act is now."
The petition can be signed at the Department of Labour between 8:00am and 5:00pm. Members of the Youth Parliament of St. Maarten also have copies available for signing. For more information, contact Maynard at
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