BELGIUM does not have a central registrar of child abusers, according to child psychiatrist, Dr Marc Gerard, who was among 12 Belgian delegates at the international child abuse conference in Dublin yesterday.
"This affair is a tragedy, but it is not really what we're dealing with most of the time. This situation couldn't be controlled and handled properly even by the justice system."
Brussels based Dr Gerard was inundated with calls from journalists on Friday before leaving Belgium to come to Dublin. All asked his opinion on how the two young girls who were rescued should be treated.
Dr Gerard pointed out that there was a limited form of mandatory reporting in Belgium. "When you witness the facts then it is possible for you to intervene in maltreatment," he said.
It was too early to draw lessons from the murders, he said. "We've had pictures of all these girls for years now in shops and we know them more or less as if they were our own children."
The entire prison and legal system needed to be overhauled. "But that's not what people in Belgium want to hear today. They would like to hear that the death penalty is still applicable."
The Belgian case is expected to be discussed today when the issue of mandatory reporting is raised. The Minister of State, Mr Austin Currie, has taken 200 submissions on the issue and has scheduled a meeting for September 16th.