Body Shop collects 14,107 petitions for sex offenders’ register

Body Shop Malta has achieved more than 14,000 customer signatures on a petition to government to establish a sex offenders register as part of the global campaign by The Body Shop International to raise awareness about trafficking of children and young adolescents.

Last year Malta became the seventh EU member state to ratify the Council of Europe’s Convention for the protection of children, putting the island well ahead of many other member states in the institution of legislative measures necessary to conform with European policies.

Education and family minister Dolores Cristina yesterday told CNN International that the formation of the sex offenders register was already at an advanced stage. The register will be based on the UK model and was soon to be put to parliament for approval.

Simone Mizzi, director of the Body Shop Malta, said that customers, generally mothers of young children were most eager to support the campaign. “A staggering 7% of the total population placed their signature in a period of just eight months,” Mizzi said,

She it was the intention of the shops to continue to campaign for tighter laws on the abuse of the internet, saying this reflected the growing concerns of families whose children were at risk of exposure to pornography and grooming networks.