Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has strongly condemned the murder of 18-year-old Kernelle Benjamin of Portsmouth whose body was found in a shallow grave this week by the police after she went missing for six days.
At a press conference on June 1, 2023, the Dominican leader stated that the death of this 18-year-old of Portsmouth, has gripped the attention of our nation and, though the facts are not yet clear, “I condemn in the strongest possible terms these obvious acts of violence committed against Kernelle Benjamin.”
“On behalf of the Government and people of Dominica, I offer deepest condolences to the parents of Kernelle Benjamin. Based on information shared in the public, there appears to have been a history of child sexual abuse associated with this particular case,” he said.
“We will all agree, that such heinous acts perpetrated against our children, should not be tolerated, and as I have previously announced, with the passage of five family Bills in the Parliament the Cabinet recently approved the restructuring of the Social Services Department and Welfare Division to address matters concerning children, women, the elderly and other vulnerable groups in our society.”
He stated that as part of the restructuring, additional trained staff will be assigned to the Welfare Division to improve the country’s response on matters of child abuse and to ensure that appropriate and timely action is taken to safeguard our children from all forms of abuse and neglect.
“Additionally, a sub-unit of the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force will be created with specially trained officers to respond to and investigate child abuse matters and other family protection issues. The protection of our children is everyone’s business.”
He continued, “The protection of our children is everyone’s responsibility. The safety and well-being of our children should be the shared responsibilities of parents, and family, the schools, the community, the government, and non-governmental organizations including our churches. Let us together focus on building a strong responsive child protection system and strengthening prevention and early intervention services for our most vulnerable”.
Now u know welfare need to respond faster to child molestation after 20 years??? Stuuupes