The new Bill on sex offences: Why every woman should be concerned

Did you know that using your position as the family head to sexually abuse your maid without their consent could hand you more than ten years in jail? Are you the type that coerces your spouse into a sexual act without their consent? How about parents who knowingly, allow their children to take part in indecent exhibitions, shows and media adverts? The new Bill, the Sexual Offences Bill, 2016, if passed into law, is going to catch up with you.

Th crimes and penalties
The Bill brings all the laws related to sex offences in one document. It takes into consideration rape, aggravated rape, attempt to commit rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual offences relating to positions of authority and persons in position of trust, sexual acts with a person incapable of giving consent, detention with sexual intent, person living on the earning of prostitution, indecent practices and acts, incest, test of relationship incest on a child among others.
Among other things, the Bill criminalises marital rape, sentencing the offender to a jail term, while in case of aggravated rape, the offenders would suffer life imprisonment.
The Bill also comes with tough penalties for employers who use their positions of influence to sexually harass their insubordinates. It also outlaws prostitution for which the culprits would be jailed for seven years.
The 21-page Bill also re-ignites debate on unnatural offences such as having carnal knowledge with a person against the laws of nature whose penalty is life imprisonment.

Background
The Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), along with other stakeholders particularly gender activists, came up with a Bill that consolidates all the relevant laws related to sexual offences that include the Penal Code Act, the Trial on Indictment Act, The Evidence Act, and the Defilement Act.
The chairperson of UWOPA, Betty Amongi, explains that they had been approached by various stakeholders including police, who said most sexual offences have not been captured in the old laws hence making it hard to implicate offenders of the crimes.
The new Bill also comes in to protect witnesses during trials of sexual offences without the fear of intimidation.
“There are new emerging sex offences, or you can call them modern crimes. For instance, we have recordings of certain girls being taken abroad under the guise of finding them employment but they end up being sold into sex slavery.
“We have found there are investors who have special rooms for such offences in which they recruit children. We cannot allow such acts to continue under our watch. We want to ensure that such victims get justice,” says Amongi.

What you need to know about the Bill
Among most African traditions, women are raised to submit to their husbands and never to deny them sex.
The Bill introduces the marital sexual assault crime. The spouse who performs a sexual act with his or her spouse without the latter’s consent commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to imprisonment to a period not less than one year or a monetary fine not less than 24 currency points (about Shs480, 000).
While the existing laws provide for rape and defilement, the new law creates a new offence called aggravated rape. They include incidences where a rape results in passing on the HIV/Aids virus to the victim, a sexually transmitted infections, gang-raping or when the offender is a proven sexual offender.
The new Bill legislates against administering a substance into one’s sexual organ without the consent of the other spouse and in such a situation, the offender is liable to imprisonment of not less than seven years.

Work conditions
Some superiors use their positions of influence at the workplace to woo young er colleagues into sexual acts in return for favours or promotions.
Others use their positions of authority or positions of trust to make life hard for their employees until they give in to their sexual advances. Such bosses, if convicted, would according to the Bill face imprisonment of not less than 10 years.
The Bill legislates against prostitution and aiding of prostitution as well. Those who procure prostitutes for purposes of sending them abroad or those who solicit other people to become prostitutes for work face jail terms.
Also, having sex with a person in custody whether you are a staff or an inmate without their consent tantamount to crime and the offender faces seven years in jail.
It is worth noting, however, that all the above proposals in the Bill are subject to amendments by the MPs.
Unnatural offences such as having carnal knowledge with a person against the order of nature or an animal now constitute an offence and upon conviction, make culprits liable to imprisonment for life.

Sex offences involving children
Acts of incest with children are very common and have been rampantly reported in the media. The new proposed law legislates against committing incestuous acts whether with one’s child, adopted child, guardian or any other person in the position of parenting.
Also, supply of sexual content involving children amounts to a crime.

What is rape?
Section 2 (1) of the new Sexual Offences Bill states: “Any person who forcefully performs a sexual act on another person, without consent, or with consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act, or in case of married person by impersonating his or her spouse commits the felony termed as rape and shall on conviction be liable to life imprisonment.”

Sound off

“ The Sex Offences Bill is good because initially, we had the Domestic Violence Act but not many people knew about it. It is a good move that will bring the culprits to face the law. The Bill talks about the legal procedures that were non-existent in the past, which was a great challenge as it was hard to argue out crimes that had no straight procedures. I think it should be able to reduce the incidence of sexual offences although the law alone would not. There have been so many Acts passed that were not implemented. It is more than just passing the law; it also about sensitising people about it, letting them know what kind of evidence they must present and where to go in such a case.” Ida Leah Nabunnya, Communications Officer, MIFUMI

“ We know very well that legislation is a normal means by which government is able to govern. However, attention needs to be paid to the character of legislation we churn out. This Bill does not pay sufficient attention to issues such as clarity, stability, language, interpretation, circumstances and conditions under which it will operate, and most importantly, enforceability. Are the provisions of this Bill enforceable? I don’t seem to think these question was answered sufficiently. To quote Francis Barlow on the Aesop’s Fables, “Good counsel is easily given, but the effect renders it uneasy to transact.”
More than how desirable the outcome of the Bill would be, the Bill should have been looked at in terms of how the resulting law will be executed. Execution will undoubtedly present a problem. Phionah Mirembe, Lawyer

“ I’m happy about the new Bill and unlike the previous laws that were not implemented, this one will help save the situation of the many cases of defilement, sexual harassment at places of work and that the men will now take caution so they do not go to jail. Many men have been committing sexual offenses, have been taken to prison for a few months before bribing their way out, only to come out and start from where they have stopped. Some have not been serving their punishments at all. I believe that the men who have been coercing their wives into sex and treating them like slaves will also learn their lesson. This may also help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and give them a chance at a bright future for the girl child in Uganda. Annet Male, social worker