CHILD rights advocacy group, Hear the Children’s Cry has described as “baffling and disheartening” recent calls for the decriminalisation of consensual sexual intercourse between minors.

The advocacy group, in a release issued to the media on Friday morning, said it was “resolute” in its stance that “decriminalising the law against consensual sexual intercourse between minors puts our children and youth at serious risk and danger”.

The declaration by the rights group follows a call on Monday by human rights watchdog, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) for, “consensual sex between minors to be decriminalised”, arguing that such cases have clogged Jamaica’s Child Diversion Programme while snapping up resources that could be used for sex education.

JFJ, in its latest report titled Civil Society Review of the Diversion and Alternative Measures for Children in Conflict with the Law in Jamaica, said it “strongly suggests” that lawmakers introduce, “a statutory defence where no offence occurs if partners are less than two years apart in age [both under 16], with a further defence available for differences up to five years if: the activity is consensual, there is no position of authority or dependency, and the younger party is at least 12 to 14 years old [to balance protection]”.

At the unveiling of the report on Monday, JFJ said the , data show a “significant percentage of diverted offences involve girlfriend-boyfriend sex or consensual sexual practices among minors, often lacking aggravating factors”.

However, Hear The Children’s Cry spokeswoman, attorney Priscilla Duhaney responded saying, “we disagree with the position for the decriminalisation of consensual sexual intercourse between minors along with the close-in-age exception”.

Said Duhaney: “It is baffling and disheartening when we desire to decriminalise the offence under Section 4 and Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Act for consenting minors. This goes against the grain of not only the moral fabric of society but also the true purpose [for] which the provision was legislated— that is, to protect our youths, the vulnerable from self-inflicted harm, and later greater repercussions”.

Duhaney went further to point out that parents are, first and foremost, duty-bound to guide their children as far as sexuality is concerned.

In calling for, “a refocus on the role of the family”, Duhaney repeated the mantra of Betty Ann Blaine, late founder of Hear The Children’s Cry, that, “If we fix the family, we fix Jamaica”.

“Pursuant to the Child Care and Protection Act 2004, the essence of the Act is to protect our children from cruelty, neglect, physical and mental abuse and exposure — this, of course, entails protecting our children from even self-harm and from others which they may or may not consent to,” Duhaney contended.

Pointing to data indicating that 308 out of 452 sex offences by minors are for consensual sexual intercourse between minors, Duhaney said: “This data is alarming, to say the least and is a call to action that our children are vulnerable and are in dire need of protection from themselves, reinforcement of the law, social and spiritual intervention.

“Despite arguments that these offences are consensual, we must note that there are circumstances where these consensual sexual engagements were initiated by coercion, manipulation, intimidation and peer pressure — and this will not be easily identified,” she noted.

“Against this background, children should not be given the responsibility to make such a life-changing/impactful decision when they are not mature physically, emotionally or legally to deal with the aftermath and consequences of their actions,” Duhaney argued.

Duhaney suggested that the undertone of the arguments supporting decriminalisation of consensual sexual intercourse between minors and grievous assault between consensual minors “ushers in a sense of demoralisation of the society”.

“There seems to be a lack of greater concern and the fundamental impact of an overly sexualised society, seemingly emphasising that moral decadence is not a serious matter and one’s premature sexual exposure could largely impact the society. Therefore, this heavy crown of responsibility should not be placed on the head of those that are not mentally, physically, financially or emotionally equipped,” Duhaney maintained.