Seychelles Domestic Violence Act 2019 (Act 21 of 2020)

The Domestic Violence Act 2019 supplements the Family Violence (Protection of Victims) Act 2000 by creating criminal offenses for conduct committed in domestic relationships. Section 4 defines “domestic partners” broadly to include spouses, cohabitants, parents of a common child, family members by blood, marriage, or adoption, co-tenants, and persons providing refuge to a victim of domestic violence. Section 3 defines domestic violence to encompass physical abuse, emotional or verbal abuse, and sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is further defined as humiliating, degrading, or abusive conduct that violates a person’s sexual integrity (whether or not the parties are married), as well as forcing another person to engage in sexual conduct. This Act expanded Seychelles’ legal framework by criminalizing domestic violence as a standalone offense and explicitly recognizing sexual abuse within domestic relationships, thereby closing the gap left by the Penal Code’s omission of marital rape and strengthening protections beyond the civil remedies provided under the 2000 Act.