-proposes national sex offender registry

The government on Friday tabled in the National Assembly amendments to the Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act which include the establishment of a National Sex Offender Database and strengthened protections for children and vulnerable adults.

The bill was presented by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.

According to the Bill’s explanatory memorandum, the proposed amendments are intended to modernise the law relating to sexual offences, improve the handling of evidence in court and enhance reporting and monitoring mechanisms for sexual offenders.

Among the proposed changes is the introduction of a National Sex Offender Database that would serve as a centralised system for recording information on persons convicted of sexual offences. The database would apply to Guyanese citizens and residents convicted of specified offences both within and outside Guyana, as well as persons convicted of such offences in Guyana after the law comes into force.

The legislation also outlines circumstances under which offenders would be required to register with authorities and provides for victims and their families to be notified of an offender’s impending release from prison.

Several amendments are aimed at strengthening the treatment of evidence in sexual offence cases. The Bill proposes allowing written witness statements to be admitted as evidence at trial and permitting witnesses to give pre-recorded video evidence. It would also make it an offence to unlawfully transmit, distribute or reproduce audiovisual recordings of such evidence.

The proposed changes would expand certain protections currently afforded to children so that they also apply to vulnerable adults. These include provisions related to testimony and evidentiary procedures in court.

It further seeks to prohibit the publication of information that could identify a person who has not been formally charged with an offence under the Act.

In another significant measure, employees of state and non-state institutions working with children or vulnerable adults would be required to report suspected sexual offences. Where no police station exists in an Amerindian village or community, reports could be made in writing to the village Toshao.

Additional amendments would require the National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Violence to submit a biennial report to the National Assembly on the implementation of the Act, the National Plan and related prevention activities.