On 25 August 2020, the Somaliland House of Representatives passed, by 25 votes, the Rape, Fornication and Other Related Offences Bill (Law No. 78/2020). If approved by the Guurti and signed by President Muse Bihi Abdi, the Bill will become law in Somaliland.
This Bill comes after an earlier Bill, the Rape and Sexual Offences Act (Law No. 78/2018), was signed into law on 28 August 2018 by President Bihi. The 2018 law was hailed both within Somaliland and internationally for the strong stand taken against rape. But the law was suspended shortly after being enacted, due to certain opposition from within Somaliland. The critics of the 2018 law proposed extensive amendments in April 2019. The 2020 Bill, the latest version of a law that would repeal the 1962 Penal Code’s provisions on rape and related acts, appears to be based largely on the amendments put forward in 2019.
Horizon Institute has produced an unofficial English translation of the 2020 Bill to contribute to the on-going public debates and engagement in the legislative process within Somaliland and to facilitate international understanding of the issues at stake.
Laws shape our lives and the lives of future generations. It is imperative that law reform is open, democratic and informed. This unofficial English translation of the 2020 Bill is intended to help foster law-making that represents the interests of all Somalilanders. read The Somaliland Rape and Sexual Offences Act (Law No. 78/2018) HERE
