The Coalition for the Protection of Children (CPC) has launched talks with Bermuda’s Attorney General to push for the establishment of a register of child sexual offenders.CPC Founder Sheelagh Cooper said historically in Bermuda, there has been a tendency to protect the rights of the perpetrators of sexual crimes more than the victims.“One of the ways that perpetrators are protected is by way of legislation that prevents the media from printing the names of most convicted child molesters,” she said.“This is absurd when you consider that there are no other crimes for which such protection from media attention is granted in law.“This kind of protection from public scrutiny has meant that for the most part paedophiles even though convicted can re-enter the community and continue their criminogenic pattern without anyone being aware of their proclivity for sexually abusing children.”Mrs Cooper added that offenders are often released after serving what light prison sentences for their crimes.As far as the child advocacy group is aware, she said no other democratic country protects paedophiles “in quite the same way” as Bermuda.Said Ms Cooper: “We are very encouraged by the support that the Attorney General has given to the proposals that we are putting before him.“We believe that this will make a substantial difference in our ability to protect children as we will be able to create and maintain a proper register of child sexual offenders.“The coalition has been and continues to be the leading non-government provider of support for victims of child sexual abuse,” she said.“At the same time, the CPC has developed the framework for a very successful programme to prevent ex-offenders from reoffending.”The programme, “Circles of Support and Accountability”, or COSA, involves a team of community members who meet with a sexual offender upon release to provide support.That support includes assistance with finding a place to live and help with finding a job.It also sets out a support path while holding the participants accountable for their actions.“This means having daily contact to ensure that the individual is abiding by the terms of his parole conditions by avoiding his triggers, staying away from children and so forth,” said Ms Cooper.In other countries she said this approach has seen a success rate as high as 85 percent in reducing recidivism.