Running out of time on justice

ITHE EDITOR, Sir:

N APRIL 2018, the Trinidad and Tobago Constitutional Court ruled that the buggery provisions were unconstitutional.

Last week, it was reported that their Sexual Offences Act has been modified to reflect that sex between consenting male adults is no longer illegal.

In July 2017, a joint select committee, convened for a second time to review the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) and other related legislation, had its last hearing of public submissions.

A year and some months later, we still await the decisions of the committee on which recommendations have, or have not, been accepted and the changes that will be made in the law as we know it.

We have been waiting since 2014 for a review of the Sexual Offences Act, the Child Care and Protection Act, the Domestic Violence Act and the Offences Against the Persons Act. The committee then had not made the progress the current one has. We are not unreasonable people. We understand that the committee is reviewing four pieces of legislation and several submissions made by community-based organisations and individuals. This takes time. However, it is important that we not allow time to get away – lest we have a situation where it’s 2022, another four years later, and we still have not concluded these reviews.

GAPS IN LAWS

It cannot be stressed enough the urgency with which the committee should work. There is a reason they were convened in the first place. There are gaps in the laws, and there are provisions that adversely affect the society – our most vulnerable, our women and our children.

There are provisions that discriminate against marginalised groups, such as the disabled and LGBT communities. If left unaddressed, they will only continue to infringe on the rights of these individuals.

It is imperative that, with alacrity, the joint select committee concludes its review. The longer this takes, the longer the law fails to respect and ensure equal protection for our most vulnerable.