Sexual Offences Legislation for House today

Jul 09, 2009 News

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Human Services and Social Security Minister Priya Manickchand yesterday confirmed that the long awaited Sexual Offences Bill would be tabled in the National Assembly today.
The Legislation had been completed by the Ministry for some time, but was stalled in the Attorney General’s Chambers where it had to be vetted.
The Bill was subsequently subjected to a Cabinet review where it apparently received a no objection.
The delay had prompted picketing exercises for several weeks. A small crowd would assemble outside the Office of the President bearing placards calling for the passage of the Bill which is aimed at protecting the abused, particularly children.
The exercise was staged by Red Thread, Help and Shelter and the Concerned Citizens Organisation.
Red Thread Coordinator, Karen De Souza, during one such exercise, had said that the three entities were calling for a speedy implementation of laws to protect children against abuse, since there seems to be an upsurge in the reported cases.
De Souza had vowed that the group would continue to picket every week until the legislation is passed and assented to.
According to De Souza, several pieces of frivolous legislation are passing through the National Assembly and that there should be a prioritizing of Bills.
Apart from murder and rape, which is one of the most serious, heinous and demeaning crimes a person can commit on another human being, and because of its nature and prevalence in the world, Guyana being no exception, there is need for the Bill by Minister Manickchand.
The Minister recently told this newspaper that the Bill stems directly from and includes contributions made during the well publicized ‘Stamp it out’ consultations.
“All of the proposed clauses in the Bill were stridently called for by the people of Guyana during the consultation period.”
According to the Minister, as it is right now, the offence of rape is restricted to penetration of the vagina by the penis, hence, some of the worst sexual violence against men, women and children involving other types of penetration can only be prosecuted as indecent assault, which carries a lesser penalty.
“If a person were to insert a bottle or broomstick or other implement into the anus or vagina of a man or woman it would not be considered rape, but sexual assault which would mean that the penalty would not be as punitive as it should be,” said Manickchand.
She added that in line with reforms around the world and to maximise protection, there will be a clause in the piece of legislation that widens the definition of rape to cater for “offensive activities we know are happening”.
The new definition of rape will, if approved in the National Assembly, “include any intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person’s body or of any object into the vagina or anus of another person, and any contact, however slight, between the mouth of one person and the genitals or anus of another, including but not limited to sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse and female-to-female genital contact….
“The definition is gender-neutral, meaning that rape of both male and female victims, by a male or female offender, is covered.”
Anyone found guilty of rape under the modified definition could be jailed for life on conviction.
To avoid doubt, the legislation will make clear that women could also rape men, according to Manickchand.
The Minister noted, also, that the existing offence of indecent assault covers a wide range of offences, from relatively minor assaults to the most serious violent attacks.
She added that there are currently three different offences of indecent assault, “one relating to indecent assault by a male on a male, and another relating to indecent assault of a woman by a man…. There is no law relating to sexual assault of a man by a woman.”
Manickchand, through the proposed piece of legislation, is seeking to make the offence of sexual assault gender-neutral, and cover the sexual touching of another person in coercive circumstances, ranging from ‘groping’ to very serious assaults.
She added also that one of the most worrying aspects of sexual violence in Guyana is the rising level of offences against children, both adolescent and increasingly very young children.
The Minister pointed out that some prosecutors have estimated that almost half of their current sexual offence cases concern child victims with the vast majority of offences being committed by family members or persons well known to the victim.
She noted that the prevention of child sex abuse and punishment of offenders is a very high priority. As such, the proposed legislation will be forming part of a wider strategy under the national plan of action to protect orphans and vulnerable children from all forms of abuse.
According to Manickchand, there is embedded in the legislation what can be referred to as non-consent offences.
“That means that it is irrelevant whether or not the (child) victim consented…. That also means that the defendant shall not be able to advance as a defence the victim’s consent to the sexual activity which forms any charge under these clauses.”
There are also provisions in the proposed legislation, according to Manickchand, that caters for where a person engages in sexual penetration with another person who is under the age of 16 or intentionally causes that other person to engage in sexual penetration with a third party.
That person will be guilty of rape and could face life imprisonment, she said, adding that it would be irrelevant whether the perpetrator believed the victim to be over 16 years at the time.
There will also be provisions for instances where a person engages in sexual activity but not penetration with another person who is under the age of 16, or intentionally causes that other person to engage in sexual activity but not penetration with a third party, including but not limited to causing the other person to masturbate.
That person is guilty of an offence (not rape) and would be liable on summary conviction to 10 years or on conviction on indictment, to 15 years.
The Minister pointed out that in this case it would also be irrelevant whether the perpetrator believed the victim to be over 16 years at the time.
She added that a worrying trend was the fact that adults were in some instances forcing children to watch sexual activity whether it is the person being in the actual room where the act of sexual intercourse or even masturbation is happening, or by the use of images.
According to the Minister, the proposed legislation will cater to this phenomenon wherein a person would be guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, he/she intentionally causes a person, who is under the age of 16, to watch a third person engaging in a sexual activity, or to look at an image of any person engaging in a sexual activity.
The legislation also reins in a whole host of other sexual offences.

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