Seychelles

Article 16.

Every person has a right to be treated with dignity worthy of a human being and not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 17.

1. Every person has a right not to be held in slavery or bondage.

2.Every person has a right not to be compelled to perform forced or compulsory labour.

3. Labour forced or compelled to be performed pursuant to a law necessary in a democratic society does not infringe clause (2).

Article 18.

1. Every person has a right to liberty and security of the person.

Article 25.

1. Every person lawfully present in Seychelles has a right of freedom of movement and for the purpose of this article this right includes the right to move freely within Seychelles, the right to reside in any part of Seychelles, the right to leave Seychelles and the right not to be expelled from Seychelles.

Article 31.

The State recognises the right of children and young persons to special protection in view of their immaturity and vulnerability and to ensure effective exercise of this right the State undertakes-

1. to provide that the minimum age of admission to employment shall be fifteen years, subject to exceptions for children who are employed part-time in light work prescribed by law without harm to their health, morals or education;
2. to provide for a higher minimum age of admission to employment with respect to occupations prescribed by law which the State regards as dangerous, unhealthy or likely to impair the normal development of a child or young person;
3. to ensure special protection against social and economic exploitation and physical and moral dangers to which children and young persons are exposed;

d. to ensure, save in exceptional and judicially recognized circumstances, that a child of young age is not separated from his parents.

Article 35.

The State recognises the right of every citizen to work and to just and favourable conditions of work and with a view to ensuring the effective exercise of these rights the State undertakes-

a. to take necessary measures to achieve and maintain a high and stable level of employment, as is practicable, with a view to attaining full employment;

b. subject to such restrictions as are necessary in a democratic society, to protect effectively the right of a citizen to earn a dignified living in a freely chosen occupation, profession or trade;

c. to promote vocational guidance and training;

d. to make and enforce statutory provisions for safe, healthy and fair conditions of work, including reasonable rest, leisure, paid holidays, remuneration which guarantees, as a minimum, dignified and decent living conditions for the workers and their families, fair and equal wages for work of equal value without distinction and stability of employment.

e. to promote machinery for voluntary negotiations between employers and workers or their organizations with a view to the regulation of conditions of employment by means of collective agreements;

f. to promote the establishment and use of appropriate machinery for conciliation and voluntary arbitrations for the settlement of labour disputes;

g. subject to such restrictions as are necessary in a democratic society, and necessary for safeguarding public order, for the protection of health or morals and the rights and freedoms of others, to ensure the right of workers to organise trade unions and to guarantee the right to strike.

Constitution 1993 (revised 2011) (PDF)

133A. Abduction of girls under eighteen years

(1) Any person who unlawfully takes an unmarried girl under the age of eighteen years out of the custody or protection of her father or mother or other person having the lawful care or harge of her and against the will of such father or mother or other person, if she is taken with the intention that she may be unlawfully and carnally known by any man whether any particular man or generally, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

(2) It shall be sufficient defence to a charge under this section if it shall be made to appear to the court before whom the charge shall be brought that the person so charged had reasonable cause to believe and did in fact believe that the girl was of or above the age of eighteen years.

134. Abduction of girls under sixteen

Any person who unlawfully takes an unmarried girl under the age of fifteen years out of the custody or protection of her father or mother or other person having the lawful care or charge of her, and against the will of such father or mother or other person, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

138. Procuration

Any person who-

(a) procures or attempts to procure any girl or woman under the age of twenty-one years, not being a common prostitute or of known immoral character, to have unlawful carnal connection, either in Seychelles or elsewhere, with any other person or persons; or

(b) procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to become, either in Seychelles or elsewhere, a common prostitute; or

(c) procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to leave Seychelles, with intent that she may become an inmate of or frequent a brothel elsewhere; or

(d) procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to leave her usual place of abode in Seychelles (such place not being a brothel), with intent that she may, for the purposes of prostitution, become an inmate of or frequent a brothel either in Seychelles or elsewhere,

is guilty of a misdemeanour:

Provided that no person shall be convicted of any offence under this section upon the evidence of one witness only, unless such witness be corroborated in some material particular by evidence implicating the accused.

139. Procuring defilement by threats, etc

Any person who-

(a) by threats or intimidation procures or attempts to procure any woman or girl to have any unlawful carnal connection, either in Seychelles or elsewhere; or

(b) by false prêtences of false representations procures any woman or girl, not being a common prostitute or of known immoral character, to have any unlawful carnal connection, either in Seychelles or elsewhere; or

(c) applies, administers to, or causes to be taken by any woman or girl any drug, matter, or thing with intent to stupefy or overpower so as thereby to enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with such woman or girl,

is guilty of a misdemeanour:

Provided that no person shall be convicted of an offence under this section upon the evidence of one witness only, unless such witness be corroborated in some material particular by evidence implicating the accused.

140. Householder permitting defilement of girls under thirteen

 (1) Any person who, being the owner or occupier of premises or having or acting or assisting in the management or control thereof, induces or knowingly suffers any girl under the age of thirteen years to resort to or be upon such premises for the purpose of being unlawfully and carnally known by any man, whether such carnal knowledge is intended to be with any particular man or generally, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for five years.

(2) Any person who, being the owner or occupier of premises or having or assisting in the management or control thereof, induces r knowingly suffers any girl not under the age of thirteen years but under the age of fifteen years to resort to or be upon such premises for the purpose of being unlawfully and carnally known by any man, whether such carnal knowledge is intended to be with any particular man or generally, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

(3) It shall be a sufficient defence to any charge this section if it shall be made to appear to the court before whom the charge shall be brought that the person so charged had reasonable cause to believe and did in fact believe that the girl was of or above the age of fifteen years.

141. Detention of female in brothel and elsewhere

Any person who detains any woman or girl against her will-

(a) in or upon any premises with intent that she may be unlawfully and carnally known by any man, whether any particular man or generally; or

(b) in any brothel,

is guilty of a misdemeanour.

When a woman or girl is in or upon any premises for the purpose of having any unlawful carnal connection, or is in any brotherl, a person shall be deemed to detain such woman or girl in or upon such premises or in such brothel, if, with intent to compel or induce her to remain in or upon such premises or in such brothel, such person withholds from such woman or girl any wearing apparel or other property belonging to her, or where wearing apparel has been lent or otherwise supplied to such woman or girl with legal proceedings if she takes away with her the wearing apparel so lent or supplied.

No legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, shall be taken against any such woman or girl for taking away or being found in possession of any such wearing apparel as was necessary to enable her to leave such premises or brothel.

143. Procuring for prostitution for purposes of gain

Whoever for purposes of gain-

(a) procures, entices or leads away, for purposes of prostitution, another person (even with the consent of that other person); or

(b) exploits, or is an accessory in, the prostitution of another person (even with the consent of that other person), or the illicit carnal connection of two other persons,

is guilty of a misdemeanour.

144. Procuring for prostitution, etc., other than for purposes of gain

Whoever-

(a) procures, entices or leads away, for purposes prostitution, another person (even with the consent of that other person); or

(b) exploits, or is an accessory in, the prostitution of another person (even with the consent of that other person),

where the person procured, enticed, led away or exploited is less than twenty-one years old at the time of the offence, or is procured, enticed, led away or exploited for the purpose of being sent abroad, or by the use of fraud, deceit, threat, violence or any other means of duress, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

155. Brothel

(1) A person who-

(a) keeps or manages, or acts or assists in the keeping or management of a brothel;

(b) being the owner, tenant, lessee or occupier or person in charge of any premises, knowingly permits the premises or any part of the premises to be used as a brothel;

(c) being the owner, lessor or landlord or the agent of the owner, lessor or landlord, of any premises-

(i) lets out the premises or any part of the premises knowing that the premises or any part of the premises is to used as a brothel; or

(ii) is willfully a party to the continued use of the premises or any part of the premises as a brothel,

is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for three years.

(2) In this section “brothel” means any premises or any part of any premises resorted to or used by any person for the purposes of prostitution or lewd sexual practices.

156. Living on earning of prostitution

A person who-

(a) procures, entices or leads away, for the purposes of prostitution, another person;

(b) knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution of another person;-

(c) knowingly exploits the prostitution of another person.

(d) for the purposes of gain, exercises control, direction of influence over the movements or action of another person in a manner as to show that the person is aiding, abetting, encouraging or compelling the prostitution of that other person,

is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for five years.

245. Kidnapping with intent to do harm, slavery, etc.

Any person who kidnaps or abducts any person in order that such person may be subjected, or may be so disposed of as to be put in danger of being subjected, to grievous harm, or slavery, or to the unnatural lust of any person, or knowing it to be likely that such person will be so subjected or disposed of, is guilty of felony, and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.

249. Buying or disposing of a person as slave

Any person who imports, exports, removes, buys, sells or disposes of any person as a slave, or accepts, receives or detains against his will any person as a slave, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for ten years.

250. Slave dealing

Any person who habitually imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, traffics or deals in slaves is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.

251. Forced labour

Any person who unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for three years.

1952 Penal Code (PDF)

Article 2. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires –

“exploitation” includes –

• Sexual exploitation;
• Forced labour or services;
• Subjecting a person to practices similar to slavery;
• Involuntary servitude;

(e) Fraudulent use of a person for removal of their organs or body parts; or

(f) Forced marriage;

Article 3. Trafficking in persons

(1) A person who recruits, transports, transfers, harbours or receives another person by any of the following means -

(a) threat;

(b) use of force or other forms of coercion;

(c) abduction;

(d) fraud;

(e) deception; including any misrepresentation by words or conduct as to financial incentive or promise of reward or gain and other conditions of work;

(f) abuse of power or of another person’s position of vulnerability;

(g) giving or receiving of payments or benefits, knowingly or intentionally, to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person,

For the purposes of exploitation, commits the offence of trafficking in persons and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years, or such imprisonment and a fine not exceeding SCR500,000.

(2) Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that any of the means referred to in subsection (1)(a) to (g) has been used in committing the offence of trafficking, it shall not be a defence that the trafficked person consented to such act.

Article 4. Child trafficking

(1) A person who recruits, transports, transfers, harbours or receives a child, knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the person is a child, whether or not by use of any means referred to in section 3(1)(a) to (g), commits the offence of child trafficking and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years, or such imprisonment and a fine not exceeding SCR800,000.

(2)  A person who adopts, fosters or obtains the guardianship of a child with the intention of exploitation, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years, or such imprisonment and a fine not exceeding SCR800,000.

Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act 2014 (PDF)