Seychelles

Commonwealth Cybercrime Symposium 2025 hosted: The Ministry of Internal Affairs, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, hosted a symposium for criminal justice officials on cybercrime and electronic evidence, reinforcing Seychelles' commitment to enhancing national cyber resilience.

Seychelles highlights cybersecurity and child online safety at WeProtect Global Summit: Minister of Internal Affairs represented Seychelles at the WeProtect Global Summit, highlighting national achievements in cybersecurity, enhancing online safety for children, and global collaboration efforts.

Sexual Offences Bill (draft) published: A draft Sexual Offences Bill was published, proposing extensive provisions for sexual offenses against children, including child pornography and grooming.

Amendments to Online Safety Bill to require age verification for pornography sites: An article reported that amendments to the Online Safety Bill would require all sites publishing pornography to implement enhanced checks to ensure users are 18 or over, with penalties for non-compliance including fines and criminal liability for bosses.

Cybercrimes and other Related Crimes Act, 2021 published: The Cybercrimes and other Related Crimes Act, 2021 (Act 59 of 2021) was published in the Official Gazette, criminalizing child pornography, obscene material, and non-consensual sharing of private sexual images online.

President assents to Cybercrimes and other Related Crimes Act, 2021: The President assented to the Cybercrimes and other Related Crimes Act, 2021, a significant piece of legislation addressing online offenses.

Penal Code Sections 157A–157F consolidated: The Penal Code, Chapter 158, Sections 157A–157F (voyeurism) were consolidated to this date, reinforcing protections against privacy violations and non-consensual recording/sharing of intimate acts.

Child protection commission emphasizes online safety: The Chairperson of the National Commission for Child Protection highlighted the importance of tackling cyber security issues where children are concerned, citing rising online abuse.

National Commission for Child Protection appointed: A new National Commission for Child Protection was appointed by the Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, with a mandate to address all matters concerning children.

Convictions for online sexual offenses against children: Three men were convicted and sentenced to 25, 12, and 8 years imprisonment respectively on 26 sexual offense charges committed against children, using Facebook to lure and groom young girls.

Proposals for 'porn blockers' were dropped: Proposals to implement 'porn blockers' were abandoned.

National Assembly debate on parental consent for contraception for under 18s: A debate was held in the National Assembly regarding parental consent for minors under 18 to access contraception.

National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy published: The National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy was published, acknowledging the age of consent for sex as 15 years and the age of majority as 18 years.

Penal Code Sections 157A-157F (voyeurism) inserted: Sections 157A to 157F, criminalizing violations of personal privacy involving 'private acts' (voyeurism and non-consensual recording/sharing of intimate acts), were inserted into the Penal Code by Act 7 of 2012.

Penal Code Sections 130, 135, 136 amended: Sections 130 (Sexual assault), 135 (Sexual interference with a child), and 136 (Sexual interference with dependant) of the Penal Code were amended by Act 5 of 2012, increasing penalties for offenses against minors.

Discussion on internet porn access leading to jail: An article highlighted that existing laws (from the 1990s) provided for conviction for accessing or distributing non-work-related or unauthorized materials, including internet porn, with penalties up to five years jail and/or a R30,000 fine. A committee was working with the Attorney-General's office to revise and strengthen this legislation.

Seychelles acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Seychelles became a party to the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, reinforcing its commitment to child protection.

Children Act enacted: The Children Act was enacted, focusing on the protection and welfare of children.

Majority Act enacted: The Majority Act was enacted, stipulating that the age of majority is 18 years.

Penal Code (Act 12 of 1952) effective: The Penal Code, which contains general provisions against obscenity and sexual offenses, became effective.