Protecting children cannot remain a policy on paper

In the same edition of The Star that reported on the push for mandatory background checks, another story ran beside it: a man in his 30s, still living with the aftermath of abuse that began with what he called "a slight brush on the shoulder" from a home tutor when he was a child. That is what a policy gap actually costs.

And the policy gap is real. Mandatory screening is still not required across all institutions that work with children. The e-DKK registry exists, but enforcement is inconsistent. As of June, only 442 applications had gone through the system nationwide, a number that should be far higher if screening were the norm rather than the exception.