Special Envoy: “The Laws are There”

Kim Simplis-Barrow

In 2013, extensive amendments to the Criminal Code of Belize were passed in respect of fully delineating potential offenses of sexual assault against both adults and children. Those laws were endorsed by Special Envoy for Women and Children Kim Simplis-Barrow and the National Committee for Families and Children among others. Today, the Special Envoy told News Five that the laws are there to be used and enforced, and that proper investigation will ensure that the guilty will be punished.

Kim Simplis-Barrow, Special Envoy for Women and Children

“We advocated; we went to Cabinet with the adjustments to our laws. The laws are there. We passed to increase charges for perpetrators. The laws are there in our books, so it is the judicial system to ensure that these perpetrators are brought to justice, because the laws are there, it’s not a slap on the wrist. A child has died at the hands of someone; there was negligence. It’s [now] a murder. So someone, or people, have to be held accountable. So to say that our laws are not up to par – yes, they are. We just passed those laws a couple years ago. We made a big thing about it: that we have increased punishment for perpetrators who do these things.”