BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS

CO-FOUNDER of the advocacy group WMW Jamaica Hilary Nicholson says children continue to be endangered and victimised without sufficient redress for their pain because parliamentarians are yet to amend legislation to address forced anal sex.

A 2017 parliamentary committee, which reviewed the Sexual Offences Act and the related legislation, in the end made no recommendations to amend the statute relating to forced anal sex. This after it was posited that forced anal penetration should be made a criminal offence similar to vaginal penetration with a commensurate penalty. It was, however, argued that any amendment to that effect could be construed as an implied repeal of the offence of buggery under the Offences Against the Person Act. On that basis, it was felt that the committee did not have the power to effect that amendment and the matter should be considered by Parliament instead.

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck subsequently indicated to the House of Representatives that the “Government has given its commitment to invoking a referendum on the matter“. He said a similar approach was also being taken in relation to abortion. The committee held a total of 19 meetings, with the last one held on December 6, 2018.

The House of Representatives in November of last year approved the report of the committee on its review of the Sexual Offences Act, the Offences Against the Person Act, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Child Care and Protection Act. That report is now being debated by the Senate, but there have been no pronouncements on the promised referendum.

Currently rape is defined as non-consensual penetration of a vagina by a penis. Jamaica's Offences Against the Person Act, Section 76, makes buggery punishable across the board, with a penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years, with hard labour. But vaginal rape has a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and may even attract a penalty of life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances. Read more via Jamaica Observer