Work progressing to ensure Family Violence Bill overhauls Domestic Violence Act – AG

…says new bill will seek to correct deficiencies, omissions, weaknesses

Government is currently working to replace the 1997 Domestic Violence Act with the Family Violence Bill, according to Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC.
On Thursday, AG Nandlall made the comment after having had discussion with the Women and Gender Affairs Commission, led by Indra Chanderpaul, at the Attorney General’s Chambers on Wednesday.
Drawing from Government’s 30 years of practical experience dealing with the Domestic Violence Act, the new bill would seek to correct the deficiencies, omissions and weaknesses contained therein, and ensure an easy process for persons to lodge complaints, while expanding beyond the civil nature of the Act.
“The Family Violence Bill will be both civil and criminal in its nature, and persons can be imposed with criminal sanctions for violations committed under the intended law,” a release from the AG Chambers said. “Importantly, persons would be exposed to imprisonment under the new law.”
In continued commitment to prioritise the rights and concerns of women and children in the country, Nandlall also detailed updates on other legislation over which the Commission had raised issues. For one, the Sexual Harassment Bill – a model legislation produced under the Caribbean Community -led Spotlight Initiative, is still in progress. Meanwhile, a new Trafficking in Persons Bill 2023 is before a Cabinet Sub-Committee.
The multi-ministerial effort by the Legal Affairs, Human Services and Social Security and Education Ministries to review the Sexual Offences Act is still ongoing, and will also rely on engagement with the legal profession, Director of Public Prosecutions, the Guyana Police Force, and other stakeholders. In the interim, a ‘Help and Justice Centre’ –in the form of two physical structures being built on the West Coast of Demerara and the East Coast of Demerara –will offer legal and medical services, counselling, Police protection, and accommodation to families and victims of domestic and sexual violence. This Centre is a joint initiative of the Ministries of Legal Affairs and Human Services and Social Security.
Nandlall also explained that the Evidence Act – which largely allows for the use of video-link interviews as evidence in the Courts, often providing greater security for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence – has recently been reviewed by the Law Reform Commission, and proposed amendments are now under review by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
On whether the Government would sign on to the optional protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Nandlall directed the Commission to Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, who is responsible for that issue.
The Attorney General also informed the Commission that the entire volume of the Laws of Guyana is currently being revised up to the 31st of December, 2022. This process would achieve the insertion into the principal legislation of all amendments made since 2012, as well as the consolidation of all the new laws enacted. The end result would be new and updated volumes of the Laws of Guyana as of December 31, 2022.
The delegation raised a number of issues, including the need for Government to implement a Family Code; the need to address the gaps in the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offenders Act; whether the Evidence Act would be amended; whether a Sexual Harassment Bill would be enacted; and whether the Government of Guyana would sign on to the optional protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), among other things.