Proposed law calls for imprisonment for nudity

Parliament has permitted the tabling of the Sexual Offences Bill, 2024, introduced by Anne Ebaju Adeke, MP for Soroti District (FDC).

The Bill consolidates various laws related to sexual offences into one comprehensive piece of legislation.

Speaker Anita Among, who chaired the House on October 14, 2024, referred the Bill to both the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Committee on Gender, Labour, and Social Development for further scrutiny.

Among instructed that the Committee on Legal Affairs would lead the review and present a report to Parliament within 45 days.

The Bill proposes a death sentence for aggravated rape, criminalises indecent gestures such as touching one’s sexual organs (with a penalty of up to three years in prison), and introduces similar penalties for individuals who expose their sexual organs to others in public.

If passed into law, anyone who administers a substance with the intent to commit a sexual act would face imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years.

Speaker Among noted that Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka had raised concerns that certain provisions of the Bill duplicated existing laws and called for additional funding, which had not been approved by the Government.

Nevertheless, the Bill continues to move forward for further scrutiny.

The objective of the Bill is to enact a specific law on sexual offences aimed at the effective prevention of sexual violence.

It seeks to enhance penalties for sex offenders, protect victims during trials, and provide for the extraterritorial application of the law. Additionally, the Bill proposes the repeal of certain provisions of the Penal Code Act.

The Bill is being reintroduced after it was passed by the 10th Parliament but returned by President Yoweri Museveni in 2021. Due to the lapse of Parliament's term, the Bill was not processed and had to be reintroduced.

The Bill aims to update sexual offences outlined in the Penal Code Act to address new forms of sexual violence and exploitation, which are becoming increasingly prevalent.

In her justification, Adeke emphasized that the current laws on sexual offences are scattered across different pieces of legislation.

"Whereas sexual offences are mainly addressed under the Penal Code Act, various other laws—such as the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Children Act—also make provisions for sexual offences," Adeke said.

She argued that a consolidated law would better respond to evolving trends in sexual violence, curb sexual offences more effectively, and align Uganda's legal framework with international best practices in preventing sexual violence.

The Bill addresses the issue of the fragmented nature of sexual offences in Ugandan law, which denies the public access to a single, unified piece of legislation on these offences.

Adeke pointed out that several Commonwealth countries, including India, the United Kingdom, and Kenya, have successfully consolidated sexual offences into a single piece of legislation.

Among the new provisions introduced by the Bill are penalties for transferring sexually explicit information to a person without their consent.

A person found guilty of such an offence could face up to five years in prison, as would individuals found guilty of recording, taking pictures, or filming others in a state of nudity without consent.