Procuration of women and girls
Dear Mrs. Macaulay,
With all the talk on human trafficking in Jamaica it seems that we have done nothing about it. What is the Offences against the Person Act law that they say deals with it?
Ms S
Dear Ms S,
Thank you for your letter. In the Offences against the Person Act, there are offences which somewhat relate to some of the types of acts that constitute trafficking. The most obvious offence is that of procuration (obtaining), which is the first offence dealt with under the section of the Act for the protection of women and girls.
The section provides that any person who:-
. procures or attempts to procure any girl or woman under 18 years of age who is not a prostitute or a well known immoral character, to have unlawful carnal connection (sexual intercourse) either in or outside Jamaica with any other person or persons, or
. procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to become a common prostitute either in or outside Jamaica, or
. procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to leave the Island, intending that she will become a prostitute or become part of a brothel, or
. procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to leave her home, in Jamaica (and that home was not a brothel) intending that she may, for prostitution purposes go and become a part of a brothel or a frequenter of one, either in Jamaica or abroad, commits an offence and on conviction, can be imprisoned for a maximum period of 3 years, with or without hard labour. The Section states that any of these offences are misdemeanours and not felonies.
There is also a proviso which states that no person can be convicted of any of these offences on the evidence of only one witness, without that witness’s evidence being corroborated in a material particular.
Let me give an example of this – ‘A’ gives evidence that John got Mary to go to Miami intending her to go and work in a brothel there. Along with that evidence, the prosecution must call persons like Mrs Smith, whose phone John used to talk to the people in Miami, to give evidence of what she heard John say. They may also call the travel agent who sold the ticket to John, and the check-in agent at the airport who processed Mary’s documents with John making the arrangements to ensure Mary boarded the flight.
There is in a sub-section, a provision for the convicted person to be also whipped once in private. This however cannot be implemented, as it is degrading treatment and would be unconstitutional. This highlights the need for this Act to be amended to remove archaic language, provisions and inappropriate penalties, and to include offences to deal effectively with our present-day reality.
Another sub-section gives power to police officers above the rank of Corporal to arrest, without a warrant, any person when he/she has good cause to suspect such a person has committed or is attempting to commit any of the 4 offences mentioned above.
There is also the offence of procuring or attempting to procure the defilement of any woman or girl by threats or intimidation or drugs to so stupefy or overpower her to enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with such a woman or girl either in Jamaica or abroad. This offence is a misdemeanour, and the maximum penalty on conviction is imprisonment for 3 years with or without hard labour. There is for these offences also, the proviso against conviction on the evidence of only one witness without corroboration of such evidence in some material particular.
MARGARETTE MAY MACAULAY is a Women’s and Children’s Rights Advocate.
