Sexual Offences Bill 2024: Partner Who Disconsents During Sexual Intercourse Can File a Case as Relatives or Friends Who Interfere with Sex Cases to be Jailed for 5 Years.
📸: Hon Anna Adeke, Woman MP for Soroti, Mover of the Bill.
Her proposal is contained in The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024 that she tabled before Parliament today, in which she is seeking to enhance punishment for sexual offenders, makes offences gender neutral and creates new offences to deal with new social vices that perpetuates sexual violence in Uganda.
In clause 42 of The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024, Anna Adeke proposed that; (l) "A person who enters into settlement or compromise with a person suspected to have committed a sexual offence or the relative of a person suspected to have committed a sexual offence, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for 10years."
However in clause 42(3), Adeke is seeking an exemption not to have this section applicable to a settlement or compromise entered into between the Director of Public Prosecution and the person suspected to have committed a sexual offence.
Further in clause 43, Anna Adeke has proposed a jail sentence of 3years to be imposed on a parent, guardian or relative of the victim or a person in authority or trust, who fails to report or who threatens, intimidates, coerces or forces a victim not to report sexual offences provides for under this Act.
Adeke defended the enactment of The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024 noting that it is intended to enact a specific law on sexual offences for the effectual prevention of sexual violence; to enhance punishment of sexual offenders; to provide for the protection of victims during trial of sexual offences; to provide for extra territorial application of the law; to repeal some provisions of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 128 and for other related matters.
Anna Adeke (Soroti DWR) has proposed to exempt breastfeeding mothers, performers in cultural dances, medical professional carrying out sound medical procedures from the 3year jail sentence, being proposed for people found liable of indecent exposure of sexual organ, breasts or buttocks.
The proposal is contained in The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024, that @AdekeAnna says is intended to ensure that the legislation responds to the evolving and current trends in sexual offences, curbs sexual violence and adopts international best practices in the prevention of sexual violence.
Adeke proposed in clause 6(5) “The public exposure of a person's bare sexual organ, breasts or buttocks does not constitute an offence under this Act if- (a) the person's bare sexual organ, breasts or buttocks are exposed; while participating in a cultural or customary event or ceremony; unintentionally, while participating in recreational sport; or by a medical professional, for sound medical purposes; or (c) the person's breasts are exposed while feeding an infant directly from the breast.”
The other exemptions include; (b) the public exposure of a person's bare sexual organ, breasts or buttocks is permitted under the culture or custom of an indigenous community in Uganda to which the person belongs.
However outside the above provisions, in the same clause 6(l) A person who-(a) while in a public place, intentionally exposes his or her bare sexual organ to any other person; (b) while using an on-line platform, intentionally displays or exposes his or her or any other person's bare sexual organ, breasts or buttocks to any other person would be held liable on conviction, to imprisonment for three years.
Adeke has proposed tough measures of dealing with past sexual offenders by calling for the establishment of a Sexual Offenders Register that will have details of the individual, crimes they committed, and the register will be managed by National Identification and Registrations Authority (NIRA).
In clause 36 of the Bill, Adeke Anna has proposed a jail term of 7years to be imposed on anyone who fails to disclose their sexual offence conviction while seeking for employment, while all employers in Uganda will also be required to cross check with NIRA to establish if the prospective employee wasn’t convicted of any past sexual offence before approved for employment especially in the care of children or vulnerable people.
“A prospecting employer shall, before employing a person in any employment position which places or is likely to place the prospecting employee in a position of authority or care of children or any other vulnerable person, verify that person to be employed is not registered on the register. (3) A person who does not comply with subsections (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years,” Adeke Anna noted in clause 36(2) of The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024.
Additionally, as per clause 37 (1), a person registered on the register shall, upon arrival in a district where he or she is not ordinarily resident, give notification of his or her presence to a local authority in the area and anyone who fails to do so could be jailed for 5years.
If adopted in its current form, anyone found liable of intentionally administering or causes to be administer a substance to another person, with the intention of inducing, stupefying or overpowering that other person so as to perform a sexual act on that person or to enable another person perform a sexual act on that person, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years.
In Clause 5 (3) of the Bill, @AdekeAnna has proposed imprisonment for life if a person intentionally; touches the sexual organ, breasts, buttocks or thighs of that person; comes into contact with the sexual organ, breasts, buttocks or thighs of that person, using his or her sexual organ or any other object; compels, induces or causes a child or any other person in a care institution to-touch his or her sexual organ for anyone under the age of 18years. However, a jail sentence of 3years has been proposed for anyone who without consent does the above actions against an adult.
Clauses 2 and 3 of the then, Sexual Offences Bill 2019, prescribed a penalty of life imprisonment for the offence of rape & 8years if he or she attempts to commit the offence of rape.
The Bill proposed several ingredients for rape including when a person performs a sexual act with another person- who is asleep, unconscious, in an altered state of mid due to influence of medicine, drugs, alcohol or any substance that adversely affects his or her judgment or is mentally paired is incapable of consenting to a sexual act, etc.
For aggravated rape, the old Sexual Offences Bill proposed the death penalty or 8years imprisonment for the offence of aggravated rape and circumstances for the offence including; (a) The sexual offender is infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS, (b) the offender is a serial offender, (c) the victim suffers disability, (d) the act was committed by two or more persons, (e) the act was committed in the presence of another person.
The other circumstances for aggravated rape included; (f) the offender is a person in authority or a person in trust; or (g) the victim is of advanced age.
Parliament backed the proposal on grounds that the provisions in Section 123 of the Penal Code Act aren’t gender neutral as they only assume only women are raped and thus, there was need to make the offence of rape gender neutral in order to harmonise it with the offence of defilement and also close a lacuna in law as to whether a person of the male gender can be raped.
“In such a situation, the law did not cater for the rape of persons of the male gender yet incidents of such rape are continually being reported in media. This unjustified distinction in the application of the law between the different genders contravenes article 21 (1) of the Constitution which relates to equal protection before the law,” read in part the February 2021 report Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
In Clause 5 of the previous Sexual Offences Bill, a jail term of one year or fine of Shs480,000 was proposed for the offence of Sexual assault, for anyone who unlawfully- (a) touch the anus, breasts, penis, buttocks, thighs or vagina of another person; or (b) exposes or displays his or her sexual organ to another person;
The Bill further proposes to have anyone charged of sexual assault if he/she; (c) exposes or displays the sexual organ of another person, (d) utters any word, makes any sound or gesture or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall he heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen another person; or (e) intrudes upon the privacy of a person with intent to insult the modesty of that other person.
The former Sexual Offences Bill proposed the creation of a sex offender's register onto which the particulars of a person convicted of a sexual offence will be registered, and this would be done within 10 days of the criminal conviction, and the Sexual Offences Register had to be maintained by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
The Legal Committee welcomed the proposal arguing that a sex offender's register is one of the ways through which the public is informed of the existence of sex offenders in their neighborhoods and also serves as a reference point for prospective employers in ensuring that persons who have a history of sex offences do not get employed because of the risk they pose to the public, especially to children and other vulnerable groups.
The then Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 also sought to decriminalize prostitution by deleting sections 137, 138 and 139 of the Penal Code Act. Section 139 of the Penal Code Act prohibits prostitution and requires that a person who practices or engages in prostitution commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for 7years.
Instead, the proponents of the proposal to decriminalize prostitution argued that sex workers should be licensed to enable them work and contribute to the formal economy or at least create areas where prostitution is allowed instead of a blanket ban on prostitution.
The movers of the Sexual Offences Bill of 2019 argued that criminalizing adult, voluntary, and consensual sex, including the commercial exchange of sexual services, is incompatible with the human right to personal autonomy and privacy and thus, Government should not be telling consenting adults who they can have sexual relations with and on what terms.
The movers further argued that criminalization of prostitution exposes sex workers to abuse and exploitation by law enforcement officials who end up harassing sex workers, extorting bribes, and physically and verbally abuse sex workers, or even rape or coerce sex from them.
However, the Legal Committee rejected the proposal to decriminalize prostitution arguing that the Ugandan society is religious, & culturally, decriminalizing prostitution will be contrary to public policy and cultural norms since most cultures in Uganda frown upon sex work.
The Legal Committee also noted that legalizing prostitution will hurt the society, the young children and the family unit, as children might be influenced to join the trade. The Committee argued that prostitution might lead to the break down in families and the institution of marriage since a number of people might resort to prostitutes instead of sticking to their partner.
Clause 36 of the old Sexual Offences Bill proposed to allow a person, who had consented to a sexual act to withdraw that consent at any time, before or during the performance of the sexual act. The Bill proposed the introduction of the “post-penetration” consent which occurs in a situation where two people initially engage in consensual sexual intercourse, but during intercourse one person changes his or her mind and withdraws his or her consent to the sexual act.
Although the then Legal Committee was agreeable to have the principle of post penetration consent in the laws of Uganda, the Committee was concerned that the provision may pose practical and enforcement challenge because the provision wasn’t clear on how the other person will know that the other person has withdrawn his or her consent?
Clause 34 of the then Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 proposed a 3year jail term against a person who makes false or misleading allegations against another person to the effect that the person has committed an offence commits a sexual offence.
Click here for the link to the bill in order to read it.
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