In part I of our “Domestic Violence”, we made mention to the fact that the Act provides a framework in regards to the protection from domestic violence particularly for women and children, it does not however mean that Men are excluded.
In Today’s Friday Read, we will look at the meaning of “Sexual abuse” and “Economic abuse” in the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 ACT 732 (“the Act”). This is part II of the domestic violence series.
Sexual abuse includes:
the forceful engagement of another person in a sexual contact which includes sexual conduct that abuses, humiliates or degrades the other person or otherwise violates another person’s sexual integrity or a sexual contact by a person aware of being infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or any other sexually transmitted disease with another person without that other person being given prior information of the infection
Therefore, sexual abuse is sexual misconduct act/s that humiliates or degrades an individual.
Economic abuse includes:
(iii) the deprivation or threatened deprivation of economic or financial resources which a person is entitled to by law, the disposition or threatened disposition of movable or immovable property in which another person has a material interest and hiding or hindering the use of property or damaging or destroying property in which another person has a material interest in
It is therefore worthy to note that sexual and economic abuse can also be considered as domestic violence, and men can be subjec to these abuses.
A person who contravenes this section is punishable by criminal proceedings.