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Supporters of new legislation on sex offences are celebrating today after the States rejected a last-ditch attempt to delay the introduction of part of the proposed reforms.
An amendment submitted by Deputies Carl Meerveld and John Dyke proposed delaying a part of the new law which will shift the burden of proof from the alleged victim to the alleged perpetrator in cases of sexual assault where the accuser was intoxicated voluntarily or involuntarily. They argued that more consultation was needed before enacting the change.
The States sat late into the evening yesterday to debate the amendment before rejecting it by 24 votes to nine with six States' members abstaining or absent. The new legislation was then approved in full.
Deputy Meerveld said he was disappointed with the outcome.
“I am disappointed that the amendment was not supported. It was justified and I presented irrefutable and incontrovertible evidence that this particular section of the new provisions did not receive the same consideration, scrutiny and consultation as the rest of the proposals,” said Deputy Meerveld.
Pictured: Deputy Carl Meerveld.
Defendants will now be asked to present evidence that they had consent for sexual activity from their accuser.
Deputy Gavin St. Pier, who originally proposed the reform by amendment in another States' debate in 2020, said the change would "effectively eradicate the difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication".
“The message is clear: lawful sex requires consent," said Deputy St. Pier.
"This means that your partner must be willing and capable of consent. If they are intoxicated, then you need to make sure they can and have consented.
"There can no longer be a place in our society for the attitude that just because someone has had a drink they are ‘up for it’ or are ‘asking for it’.”
Deputy Gavin St. Pier said the change to the law was a step towards much-needed cultural change in relation to sexual offences.
This morning, Deputy St. Pier told Express that he was delighted by the overwhelming defeat of the amendment.
“Particular credit must go to former Deputy Chris Green and Deputy Peter Ferbrache," said Deputy St. Pier.
"Both are defence advocates and were in the small minority that voted against the legislation in June 2020. They both expressed themselves satisfied that their concerns had been addressed and the legislation was ready to commence.”
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, President of the States' senior committee, Policy & Resources, last night echoed Deputy St. Pier’s comments.
“I voted against the legislation in 2020 because I did not have assurances that it had been given sufficient consideration," said Deputy Ferbrache.
"I only recently changed my mind after the review by the Ministry of Justice, who have a responsibility to ensure that any legislation is appropriate and in line with Human Rights laws.
“To delay any part of this new legislation would give the wrong message to both men and women who are victims of these crimes. I want people to know that we have made this legislation as modern as possible and that these issues are important.”
Pictured: Deputy Peter Ferbrache.
Deputy Meerveld said this section of the new legislation was untested.
“I asked the Law Officers to find out whether this legislation existed in any other Crown Dependency. While there are similar laws, there is none exactly like this and I quoted a response from the Law Officers confirming this in my speech yesterday," said Deputy Meerveld.
“When Deputy Dyke approached me with his concerns about this provision, we both knew that from a political perspective filing the amendment would be lose-lose.
"If the amendment was supported, then we may have been vindicated in one respect, but we knew the public backlash would always be strong.
"Despite this, we felt it was our duty to give the Assembly one last opportunity for this provision to be considered further.”
Pictured: The new sexual offences legislation will come into effect on 1 March.
Deputy Meerveld said that he had spoken to a senior member of the States' Assembly before yesterday’s vote who had told him that he was very concerned about this section of the new legislation but would not vote for Deputy Meerveld's amendment to delay it because of public opinion.
“A senior member admitted to me that this is bad legislation but was so worried about the backlash from the public that he would vote against the amendment. My opinion of that Deputy has fallen,” said Deputy Meerveld.
The potential for false allegations and wrongful convictions was raised during the debate. Other members said an appeals process was in place for anyone who felt their conviction was unjust.
“Both Chris Green and Deputy Peter Ferbrache have said previously that the appeals process in Guernsey needs updating and would not be sufficient to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted,” said Deputy Meerveld.
Pictured: Deputy Gavin St. Pier.
Deputy St Pier said the notion that the new legislation would result in false allegations and wrongful convictions was “laughable”.
“I am delighted the States agreed by a large majority not to defer implementation of this important piece of legislation," said Deputy St. Pier.
Sadly, nothing is going to stop all sexual crime, but this particular provision will, I hope, help over time shift culture and behaviour."
Pictured (top): Deputy Carl Meerveld (left) and Deputy Gavin St. Pier.
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