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Good practice Imported

Seychelles' Domestic Violence Act, 2020: Closing the Complaint-Withdrawal Loophole

Seychelles · Victoria · See the Seychelles profile · See the Victoria profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 66% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

In June 2020 Seychelles replaced its 2000 family-violence law with a Domestic Violence Act covering psychological, economic and sexual abuse and barring victims from withdrawing police complaints, after Commonwealth-backed research found gender-based violence cost 4.6% of GDP.

371 reports
Domestic-violence reports recorded by the Ministry of Family Affairs (2019)
more than 5,400 cases
Cases reaching the Family Tribunal (2009-2019)
4.6 % of GDP
Estimated cost of gender-based violence (2016)
25 officers
Police officers trained in handling rape and serious sexual-assault cases (following 2020 passage)
Seychelles' Domestic Violence Act, 2020: Closing the Complaint-Withdrawal Loophole

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Government of Seychelles — Ministry of Family Affairs, with the Commonwealth Secretariat
Period
2020–ongoing
Keywords
domestic violence, legal reform, gender-based violence, family law

Context

On 10 June 2020, President Danny Faure signed Seychelles' Domestic Violence Act, replacing the Family Violence (Protection of Victims) Act of 2000. The new law, passed unanimously by the National Assembly, criminalises verbal, physical, emotional, sexual, economic and psychological abuse, and closes a longstanding loophole by barring complainants from withdrawing a case once it has been filed with police.

Activities

The reform's evidence base included an economic-cost study, a review of Seychelles' legal and policy framework, and training of officials and lawmakers ahead of the vote. Following passage, 25 police officers received specialised training in handling rape and serious sexual-assault cases.

Results

The Ministry of Family Affairs recorded 371 domestic-violence reports in 2019 alone, more than 5,400 cases had reached the Family Tribunal between 2009 and 2019, and the Commonwealth's cost analysis put the toll of gender-based violence at 4.6% of GDP in 2016.

Conclusions

No publicly verifiable case, prosecution or conviction data has been published since the law took effect, and a 2023 Afrobarometer survey found Seychellois still rank gender-based violence as the top unresolved women's-rights issue in the country.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — No budget figure reported; scope included an economic-cost study, a legal/policy review, official and lawmaker training, and post-passage training of 25 police officers.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Signed into law 10 June 2020; replaced the Family Violence (Protection of Victims) Act of 2000.
Staffing & skills
25 police officers received specialised training in handling rape and serious sexual-assault cases following passage of the Act

Conditions for success

  • Evidence base built ahead of the vote: an economic-cost study, a review of Seychelles' legal and policy framework, and training of officials and lawmakers
  • Unanimous passage by the National Assembly

Common failure modes

  • No publicly verifiable case, prosecution or conviction data has been published since the law took effect
  • A 2023 Afrobarometer survey found Seychellois still rank gender-based violence as the top unresolved women's-rights issue in the country, suggesting implementation and enforcement gaps

Where it fits

Governance type
national government / Commonwealth-supported legislative reform
Scale
national (Seychelles)
Income level
high-income (Seychelles, small island state)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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