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The Trafficking in Persons Act of 2007, amended in 2010 and 2011, prohibits human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor, and establishes the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATP) to coordinate responses in The Gambia. The Act adopts the definition of trafficking in accordance with the…

The Tourism Offenses Act of 2003 addresses the sexual exploitation of children in tourism development areas of The Gambia. The Act outlaws sexual advances on children, and those acts carry a punishment of up to two years in prison, or a fine of 20,000 dalasis. It also criminalizes the use of any property for the intended sexual abuse of a child, the trafficking of children, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forcing, coercing, or seducing children into sexual…

Mohammed Sambou was a taxi driver charged with violent rape and robbery after diverting a couple from their route, robbing them, and dragging the woman into a bush where he assaulted her in front of her partner in 2011. The Special Criminal Court convicted Sambou of both rape and robbery, imposing 25-year sentences on each conviction to run concurrently. The Court based this conviction on the victim’s detailed testimony, medical evidence, and circumstantial evidence linking him to the crime…

State v. Ernest Sanyang is a High Court defilement case from The Gambia regarding unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 18. Sanyang was charged with having sexual intercourse with a minor. The decision is notable for its interpretation of Sections 179–180 of the Evidence Act, which governs corroboration rules in sexual offense cases. The Court held that Section 180(2)(a) imposes a statutory requirement…

In State v. Musa Keita, the defendant was charged with rape and incest involving a young female relative under the then-applied Section 122 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 10:01. The High Court of The Gambia evaluated the victim’s testimony, and that of other witnesses, as well as the medical and documentary evidence, against…

defendant was charged with rape under the Criminal Code of The Gambia for sexually assaulting a woman. The High Court found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The judgment illustrates the High Court’s approach to assessing victim testimony and corroborative evidence against the statutory definition of rape and the criminal standards of proof. This case also demonstrates judicial willingness to impose the highest available custodial sentence where liability is…

The defendant was charged with six counts of rape, defilement, seduction, and indecent acts by a tourist against two underage girls. The High Court admitted detailed testimony from the victims and their relatives, medical evidence showing injuries related to sexual abuse, documentary evidence of the victims age, and explored the requirement of corroboration in cases involving sexual abuse. The High Court held that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had…

The National Gender Policy is The Gambia’s most recent strategic policy framework for promoting gender equality and women’s rights in The Gambia. The Policy explicitly identifies gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, limited access to education and health, economic inequality, and the lack of representation in decision-making processes as key obstacles to women’s empowerment and sustainable development in The Gambia. The Policy commits The Gambia to…

The National Policy for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in The Gambia 2022-2026 is a government policy document that was established to work in tandem with the Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015 to address The…

The Women’s Act of 2010, as amended by the Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015, is the principal statute implementing The Gambia’s obligations under the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the …