Page 608 - Magistrates Conference 2019

MODEL GUIDELINES FOR SEXUAL OFFENCE CASES IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION

METHODOLOGY

1. Completion of a desk review of all national laws on sexual offences and national protocols on sexual
assaults. The desk review expanded the ambit of the baseline study, done prior to the consultancy, to assess
the most recent changes to the laws and to include the national protocols impacting the investigation of
sexual offences and the care provided to complainants.
2. Conducting regional consultations with the representatives of the judiciary, law enforcement, child
protection agencies, women and gender affairs departments, health departments and the D.P.P. of
CARICOM member states. These regional national consultations were designed to:
a. Collect information on pending legislation and to validate the findings of the desk review.
b. Facilitate the mapping of the institutional mechanisms responsible for investigations, adjudications and
care interventions in sexual assault cases.
c. Collect information on examples of best practices for investigations, adjudications and care interventions
in sexual assault cases.
3. Conducting regional consultations with NGOs, members of indigenous communities, persons living with a
disability and complainants of sexual assaults in three selected CARICOM Member States. These national
consultations were designed to capture the experiences and concerns of complainants and vulnerable
groups using the institutional mechanisms to compare the actual working of the mechanisms against the
protocols and practices in place.
4. Further consultation with prosecutors, defence attorneys, and judges on the draft guidelines which were
developed.
The information gathered from the desk review and the consultations forms the background for these model
guidelines.

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