Gender, which is a well known word, is often misunderstood by both professionals and non-professionals in our society. When used in any context it is not unusual to hear the response that it is a “woman thing”.

Not unexpectedly, this misconception is one of the factors which has contributed to an immediate response in some quarters to the Sexual Offences Act as being skewed against men and favouring the protection of women. Despite the fact that from its inception this Bill has been promoted as a gender neutral piece of legislation designed to protect all persons who are victims of any form of sexual abuse or Violence, the question of gender bias has surfaced. This however, has not detracted in any way from the overwhelmingly positive response to this historic piece of legislation.

Viewed dispassionately, the Sexual Offences Act 2010 must be seen as an acceptance of a social responsibility for the protection of men, women and children from the dehumanizing acts of all forms of sexual violence. It is based on an all encompassing definition of sexual violence understood to be any form of  violence whether physical, emotional, verbal or psychological, which is carried out through the means of any sexual act. This has covered rape, and all forms of sexual or indecent assault, perpetrated against a man, woman, or child. It has addressed sexual abuse or sexual violence as being the most pervasive form of violence against all persons transcending ethnic, cultural, religious or socioeconomic barriers. Very importantly, this law reflects our society as it is today, removing it from an era in which social conditions were different and pre dated most of the advances in the status of women and other relevant areas of development in our society, such as the technologies now accessible to us and which have become an integral part of our social life.

This Act was to a large extent shaped by the views and perceptions of sexual violence expressed by women, men and adolescents in the ten (10) Administrative Regions of Guyana. In this regard a point of some significance is the fact that in these country wide discussions lead by a Minister of Government, Ms. Priya Manickchand, there was the involvement of a large number of men which provided a useful balance in the discussions and was of vital importance in setting the tone for achieving the objective of gender neutrality when analysing the various forms of sexual abuse and the attendant penalties. This is an aspect of the preparatory stages to the formulation of the Bill about which perhaps not much attention has been paid.

This new Legislation which has been assented to, has addressed a wide ranging number of offences, its objectives being the eradication of these offences through the implementation of this updated law and the introduction of reforms of procedural and judicial practices along with a series of actions laid out for the protection of all victims as well as some form of rehabilitation for perpetrators. It has spelt out very clearly what have been deemed to be sexual offences and therefore imposes a common understanding of the issues as well as a value system which must now be accepted by both men and women. Just as clearly, this Act has now been established as a definitive form of social control over issues of sexual offences affecting, men, women and children.

There are a number of implications of this Act for the lives of both men and women. In the case of women and children however, there is no doubt that they will be major beneficiaries of this Act, but this must be viewed against a situation in which they are without doubt the vast majority of victims of sexual violence. A study conducted in 2005 found that 92% of the reported victims of sexual violence were women and girls and that an estimated two thirds of the victims were 16 years or below. The Bill therefore addresses the strategic gender needs of women for adequate measures to protect them from sexual violence which is fundamentally a violation of their Human Rights.

Unequal gender relations have been addressed in all relevant aspects of the law as evidenced by the new definition of rape which includes both men and women and the protection offered to men who are victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by men or by women.

The thrust of gender neutrality such as presented in the Sexual Offences Act is to bring sexual abuse of women by men or by women, and the sexual abuse of men by other men or by women, or child sexual abuse by men or women, all under the protection of the Law – the challenge was not merely framing such a piece of legislation but to have it done in such a way that it would cover even the most unlikely situations of sexual abuse leaving no one out or omitting no scenario of sexual violence. The goal of the law is to provide equal protection of all vulnerable persons and victims of this type of abuse.

The social cost of sexual violence is enormous. It could, and often does, transcend one generation to another. This legislation speaks to this crime holistically but now requires the support of all levels of society who in partnership must play their part in eradicating this scourge from our society.