On February 6, 2009, four transgender individuals (A, B, C, D) identifying as female were arrested and charged with both Loitering and Wearing Female Attire. The police detained the Applicants for the entire weekend without explaining the charges against them. Wearing Female Attire is prohibited under Section 153(1)(XLV11) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, chapter 8:02.
The Domestic Violence Act sets forth the procedures for granting protection orders in situations involving domestic violence. Under Part III of the Act, once a protection order has been granted, a police officer can, without a warrant, enter any premises “if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that a protection order is being violated.” Section 42 of Part IV of the Act provides that, once a police officer has intervened in a case of domestic violence, “the police officer shall as soon as possible take all reasonable measures within his power to prevent the victim of domestic vi
The Equal Rights Act was created “for the enforcement of the principles enshrined in article 29 of the Constitution so as to secure equality for women.” Section 2 of the Act provides that “[w]omen and men have equal rights and the same legal status in all spheres of political, economic and social life” and that [a]ll forms of discrimination against women or men on the basis of their sex or marital status are illegal.” The Act provides, among other things, that women and men be paid equally for the same work and that, in employment matters, men shall not be afforded more favorabl
The Prevention of Discrimination Act recognizes sexual harassment as an act of discrimination subject to a penalty of up to $20,000. The Act defines sexual harassment as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace or in connection with the performance of work which is threatened or imposed as a condition of employment on the employee or which creates a hostile working environment for the employee.”
The Sexual Offences Act was created “to reform and consolidate the laws relating to sexual offences.” Part II of the Act sets forth the elements of the offenses of rape and sexual assault and defines the meaning of consent, providing that if a defendant raises “consent” as a defense, “the belief must be objectively reasonable” for the defense to succeed. Part II of the Act also defines various categories of sexual offenses against children. Part III of the Act sets parameters for the investigation of sexual offenses, Part IV of the Act defines procedures to be followed at
