New Book About Laws on Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault – it is something that most victims do not care to talk about and perpetrators don’t want to be identified with. And the laws concerning this can be complex and difficult to understand. But today, on International Human Rights Day, with financial backing from the British High Commission, the Building People’s Movement published a user-friendly book entitled Sexual Assault Laws of Belize. Founding Director of the Movement, Dorla Bowman said people have not kept abreast of the laws pertaining to sexual assault violations. When she spearheaded the Women Against Violence non-government organization almost two decades ago, Bowman had lobbied for a Bill that would address the issues. This new book looks at the Criminal Code, the Summary Offences Legislation, the Cyber Crime Legislation, the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Prohibition Act, as well as the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Act and their corresponding penalties.

Dorla Bowman

Dorla Bowman, Founding Director, Building People Movement

“We had drafted a Sexual Assault Bill. We did that twice, and we have not been successful yet in getting that tabled and passed. And we decided in the meanwhile, while we lobbied for the Sexual Assault Act, that we should do a research and publish all the sexual assault laws as a public education tool. Our organization, Women Against Violence then and Building People Movement now feel that legal reform is important and legal education is key. People need to know the laws and use the laws.”