Law No. 10 of the Year 2021 amends the Penal Code to provide increased punishments for anyone who engages in female genital mutilation ("FGM"), which punishments range from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 20 years and depend on two factors: (a) whether the perpetrator is a licensed medical practitioner and (b) the extent of the harm inflicted on the woman or girl. Individuals who request or encourage FGM are also subject to imprisonment under this law.
Article 267 of the Penal Code provides for a punishment of rigorous imprisonment (meaning imprisonment with hard labor) for anyone who rapes a woman, which shall be permanent if the perpetrator is a “Specified Perpetrator, meaning an ancestor of the victim, other person responsible for her upbringing or having power over her, or a paid servant of the victim or the perpetrator . Article 267 does not address rape of men. Article 268, however, is gender-neutral.
Article 4 (A/1) requires education, health, and social service providers (whether private or public sector) to report known or reported cases of domestic violence to the Juvenile and Family Protection Department. The obligation to report such cases (regardless of the consent of the victim) is in part mitigated by Article 4 (B) which guarantees the protection of victims by forbidding disclosure of their identities unless required by judicial procedures. The Law goes on to grant the police rights in relation to actual or suspected cases of violence or abuse.
Article 8 provides that traffickers of adults over 18 are subject to a sentence of not less than six months, a fine of 1,000 – 5,000 (JD), or both. Human trafficking crimes for this purpose are defined in Article 3 (A)(1) to include coercion, threat or force, or through giving or receiving gifts or privileges to secure consent.
