Chevy Devonish

Breaking Down Sexual Offences This week we will examine an offence which is like, or an example of last week’s offence.

Breaking Down Sexual Offences This week I will be breaking down section 33 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the SOA), which creates the offence of committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Breaking Down Sexual Offences It is common for people to drink alcohol and/or use various types of substances (including controlled/illicit substances) to enhance their party experiences.

Breaking Down Sexual Offences This week’s article will be relatively short as we look at conduct which everyone probably knows to be a crime: intercourse with an animal.

Voyeurism Last week we examined the offence of exposure of the genitals under section 28 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (SOA), we learned it is an offence for a person to intentionally expose his genitals to another with the intention that the person who sees will be alarmed of distressed.

Breaking Down Sexual Offences Last week we concluded our examination of laws which seek to protect people with mental disorders from sexual predation.

Breaking Down Sexual Offences Introduction Following our exploration of sections 24 and 25 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (SOA), we now turn our focus to another critical provision within the same legislative framework: Section 26.

Last week, we delved into section 24 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the “SOA”), which addressed the offence of causing a person with a mental disorder to watch a sexual act or to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity.

Last week, we examined Section 23 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the “SOA”), which criminalises the act of obtaining sexual activity from individuals with mental disorders through inducement, threat, or deception.

Over the next 4 or 5 weeks we will examine and break down provisions under the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (“the SOA)” which exist to protect vulnerable adults.

This week we turn our attention to and will break down a particularly sensitive and complex provision: Section 22 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the SOA).

This week we will break down Section 21 of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA), Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana, an important part of Guyana’s legislative framework aimed at addressing and mitigating child sex offences within Guyana.

The last article in this column wrapped up our break-down of the offence of sexual activity with a child by abusing a position of trust.

Last week we broke down some of the provisions in the Sexual Offences Act which seek to protect children from people in positions of trust who may seek to use that position to commit sexual offences against them.

Of the offences outlined in the Sexual Offences Act aimed at protecting children, section 18, titled “Sexual Activity with a Child by Abusing a Position of Trust,” is undoubtedly one of the most crucial.

Due to a landmark High Court decision, men in Guyana can now apply to the High Court for their former wives to pay them maintenance and or alimony upon the dissolution or nullification of their marriage, and or while they wait for the marriage to be dissolved or nullified.

In previous articles, we saw that under the Sexual Offences Act (“the SoA”), the age of consent is 16, and that any sexual activity, including sexual intercourse, with a child under the age of 16 is illegal, regardless of whether that child agreed to the sexual activity (see sections 10 and 11 of the SoA).

In earlier articles I explained that in Guyana, the age of consent (that is, the age at which a child can consent to sexual activity) is 16 years, and that as such, it is generally a criminal offence to engage in sexual activity, including intercourse, with a child under 16 years.

Today I continue the series with a breakdown of sections 12 and 13 of the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the Act).

Today, we will dissect two of the most crucial provisions under the Sexual Offences Act, Cap 8:03, Laws of Guyana (the Act), which criminalise specific sexual conduct involving children.