Victims of child sex abuse have presented a petition calling for tougher sentences for convicted paedophiles.
A public campaign launched last year by Lisa Taylor and supported by Sadie Sanders collected more than 5,600 signatures.
Both women courageously waived their right to anonymity to speak out on the issue following a high-profile court case.
Paedophile Andrew Mark Byrne, from Douglas, was jailed five years and five months in August last year after admitting four charges of historic sex abuse dating back 20 years. He had kept graphic diaries of his offending.
Sadie was abused by Byrne from the age of eight until she was 12. For 23 years she never told a soul about the ordeal she had suffered.
But she took the brave step of waiving her right to anonymity after reading Lisa’s account in the Examiner of the continuing impact of the abuse she had endured from the age of just four in a separate case.
Lisa and Sadie held meetings with Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson MHK and senior officers to discuss the possibility of strengthening sentencing powers to deal with convicted paedophiles.
Lisa said: ‘The response to the online petition has been overwhelming, which shows the depth of feeling in the Isle of Man. I wanted to raise public awareness, to give victims a voice and to play a part in helping future generations of children to be safe. Since the petition was launched, more than a dozen women have been in touch to share their stories.’
Sadie added: ‘The support we have received from Mr Watterson and the Department of Home Affairs has been encouraging. We hope to see some meaningful progress in the time ahead and to achieve something positive from a very negative situation.’
Mr Watterson has voiced his support for the principle of the petition and is working with officers to progress a number of initiatives aimed at addressing the issue.
He said: ‘I recognise Lisa and Sadie’s concerns and commend them for having the courage to share their personal experiences and highlight such a difficult topic. The department is working up legislation to ensure sentences for sexual offences in general, and sexual offences involving children in particular, reflect the gravity of the offence.’
He added: ‘We recognise that the law in this area is outdated and has not kept pace with modern society. This is a comprehensive and ongoing piece of work that will be delivered after the House of Keys general election.’