Domestic Violence: Updated law to provide protection to same-sex couples

The Family Violence Bill No. 11 of 2024, which was recently tabled in the National Assembly will replace the 1966 Domestic Violence Act with the aim of preventing and reducing incidences of family violence in Guyana while ensuring the protection of victims of abuse within families and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The Bill seeks to provide protection for couples in same-sex relationships and expand the definitions of abuse and family members.
According to Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall after three decades, the law needed to be overhauled. “In that three decades, we were able to detect a number of deficiencies, we were able to identify a number of loopholes and a number of short comings,” he said.

The Bill is “much improved” and “far more comprehensive,” he added, noting that a larger category of persons can now get protection under the Family Violence Bill as opposed to the Domestic Violence Act.
Notably, while “cohabitants” in the Domestic Violence Act of 1966 speaks of “a man and woman” who although not married to each other, are living together as husband and wife, the new Bill’s definition refers to “persons” who, although not married to each other, are living together as a “couple”.
Further, it offers a definition for “family members” which also takes into consideration social practices of considering someone a relative though there may be no blood-relations. The definition encompasses spouse or former spouse, cohabitant or former cohabitant, relative or former relative child, who regularly resides or has previously resided with the respondent, visiting or intimate relationships, persons who have shared the same household or residence, persons who share guardianship or caregiving responsibilities, persons considered to be relatives based on tradition or contemporary social practice, any other person whom the respondent reasonably regards or regarded as being “like a family member” having regard to the nature and circumstances of the relationship.
Various forms of abuse
In addition, while the Domestic Violence Act only defined domestic violence, the new Bill has separated various forms of abuse including emotional, psychological and economic abuse. Economic abuse it describes as the deliberate withholding or threatening to withhold the financial support necessary for meting reasonable living expenses of the applicant or dependent children of the relationship.
As it relates to family violence, this will include the various forms of abuse as well as threatening, coercive, controlling or dominating actions that causes a family member to fear for his/her safety. Also included is intentionally damaging a family member’s property or threatening to do so, unlawfully depriving a family member of their liberty or threatening to do so, causing or threatening to cause the death of/or injury to an animal.
The Bill proposes a new civil cause of action which allows a victim of family violence to claim damages and compensation against a perpetrator.
Some terms were also changed to be gender neutral or include both male and female.

Law Enforcement
The Bill is divided into six parts and contains 58 clauses. Part three of the bill sets out the duties and powers of police officers as it relates to family violence. It notes that concerns have been raised in Guyana and the Caribbean where the police officers are slow to interfere in domestic relationships unless the crime is “obvious and serious.” This has led to occasions where the victims later suffer greater harm and even fatal injuries.
To address this, the AG pointed out that the Bill “gives the police force a wide range of powers to deal with domestic violence complaints and to take immediate steps to protect the victim e.g remove the victim or the offender out of the home.”
The summary of the Bill states: This Bill seeks to give law enforcement mandatory obligation to arrest anyone who has committed serious harm against a family member. The police officer who is called to answer a report of family violence must arrest the perpetrator once he has reasonable grounds to believe that serious violence has been committed.
The police are also barred from seeking to mediate a resolution between parties.
It further places a responsibility on the officers to prepare a written report and submit same to a senior rank for either the launching of a formal criminal investigation or laying of criminal charges.
“This seeks to ensure that there is an early police intervention in the process,” the Bill states.
Magistrates’ powers expanded
The powers of the magistrates are also expanded. Importantly, part five of the Bill emphasises that the court has the power to grant protection even before criminal conduct is proven.
The Bill was derived from studies including the Spotlight Initiative which is aimed at eradicating violence against women and girls, and analyses the Domestic Violence Act 1966, Sexual Offences Act 2010, Protection of Children Act 2009, Childcare and Development Act 2011, Cybercrime Act, Violence Against Women Act 2019 – USA, Family Violence Act 2018 – New Zealand and the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2020 of Trinidad and Tobago.