House Bill No. 7-126-7, HD3, SD6, revisits the law and make changes to address some and issues within the law.
The Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) stressed that there is a need to amend the law due to the increased cases of child abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect of the children and vulnerable persons of Palau.The proposed measure said that the OEK also finds the statute of limitations of criminal prosecutions for cases of sexual offenses against children is also proposed to be extended.“This is in recognition of the fact of the power of imbalance between the child victims and the adult perpetrators who are often family members and the child victims are more easily intimidated by offenders,” the proposed measure said.The measure added that because of the position of authority that the perpetrators hold enables the offender to confuse the child with consequences if he or she discloses the activity.The bill proposes a child hearsay exception to allow for closed circuit television.
