7 hours Ago
With one week to go before he officially enters the Office of the Prime Minister, designate Stuart Young is full of promises. That’s to be expected, especially in an election year. Last Friday, in an address at an International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration at the Diplomatic Centre, acting Prime Minister Young said he would make protection orders effective, combat domestic violence, and bring legislation to increase penalties and sentencing for those who commit “heinous acts” against women.
On Saturday, at an IWD event hosted by the People’s National Movement (PNM), he announced that he would pass laws to protect women from social media attacks . Mr Young gave no specifics on these policies. But, time and time again, history has proven that, whenever politicians want to extend the power of the State and abrogate the rights of citizens, they cloak their true intentions in virtuous goals.
So, who would argue against protecting women? That is obviously a laudable mission. But Minister Young should specify exactly what he wants to protect women from. The main sex-specific online offence is revenge porn, and Trinidad and Tobago already has legislation to deal with that.
The country also has laws to protect everyone, not just women, against threats, whether on social media or elsewhere. The same applies to libel. So, what “rights and protection you may be missing now” is the prime minister-designate referring to? If it’s bullying or harassment, such legislation need not be gender-specific.
Also, what constitutes bullying or harassment would be open to interpretation. In his speech to the PNM faithful, Mr Young said social media was “a tool for cowards to attack women, girls, and society”. His inclusion of “society” rings a warning bell.
Section 4 (i) of the Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to “freedom of thought and expression”. That includes the freedom to attack “society” as much as they want, short of sedition. Would criticising women’s skimpy costumes for Carnival constitute an attack, given that both are an annual display of T&T society? What about negative comments about online images of particular women? Similarly, women in public life, from news reporters to officials to politicians, are often subject to personal attacks based on their sex, rather than criticisms about how they are carrying out their roles and duties.
Does the incoming prime minister believe insults should be criminalised when directed against women? Unless carefully drafted, such laws face constitutional challenges. More worryingly, it is all too easy to use the kind of law Minister Young is proposing to censor citizens. That is why he needs to get specific about his promises.
In any case, he is unlikely to get anything significant done before the next general election. Promises are easy, implementation is hard. Citizens are also anxious to hear how he plans to deal with pressing issues, such as crime, the economy, and the health sector.
What will he do differently from other prime ministers, especially his predecessor? The prime minister-designate cannot simply be a promising Young..
