Police Leak Identity of Alleged Sex Assualt Victim?

The Big Issues

The identity of an alleged victim of a sexual assault and the identity of the accused person have been leaked publicly in a voice note supposedly recorded by a policeman, and neither the police, nor any other public official has reacted to the affair. Now the details of the allegation are being tried in the court of public opinion, with the accused person claiming it's smear and the credibility of the accuser on trial before the police have concluded a proper investigation. We ask: How could such a gross and outrageous breach of confidentiality have occurred? Who should be held responsible? And how can we make reporting sex crimes a safer and easier?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

1. Ms. Joanne Massiah, attorney and Political Leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA). She was formerly at different time an MP, a Senator, and a Minister of State.
2. Ms. Lebrechtta Nana Oye Hesse Bayne, the Founder and a Director of Shidaa Sustainable Development Solutions Ltd. Professionally known by her middle name, Nana, she is a Social Economist and Gender Expert with over eighteen years international experience, acquired in countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Ghana, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
3. The Hon. Senator Bakesha Francis-James, the independent member of the Senate.

More on this episode:

The leaked voice note regards an alleged sexual assualt which was reported to the police as having occurred on Tuesday, December 7th, 2021. Shockingly, the voicenote, which appears to have been recorded by an unidentified policeman, reveals both the identities of the alleged victim, and the alleged perpetrator. The accused person was actually called by name while the alleged victim was described by their profession, their place of work, their gender, and details about their appearance.

Circulating with the voicenote, was a picture of what appeared to be partial, typed up details of the report made to police about the alleged sexual assualt. The picture further revealed the alleged victim’s age to the public as well. The person who recorded the voicenote is assumed to be a policeman since he referred to the person he was supposedly about to send the information to as “sarge” (short for sergeant). In many countries around the world, the alleged victim in a sex crime is entitled to anonymity and confidentiality.

In Antigua and Barbuda, this has been the case and the leaking of the identity of such a person is a shocking deviation from what the law demands. The Sexual Offences Act 1995 makes it unlawful to publish the names of either the alleged victim or the alleged perpetrator unless, in the case of the alleged perpetrator, there has been a conviction. Otherwise, the individuals would have had to have waived their right to anonymity.

More shockingly, there has up to this point been no public statement or reaction from commissioner of police, nor any police official, nor any other public official regarding what appears to be a gross breach of confidentiality in relation to a sexual assault complaint. There has been no acknowledgement of the leak, no apology, no explanation of how it managed to happen, no news of any internal inquiry - nothing. There has been silence, as if to suggest that the leak is not that serious an issue.

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on December 12th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.