Fines for sexual harassment and a requirement by employers to have policies against sexual harassment could finally become enshrined in Cayman Islands law, now that the long-awaited legislation is set to be debated in Parliament.
But campaigners are planning to lobby MPs to stiffen penalties for offenders, arguing that the current draft legislation does not go far enough.
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill 2025 was published by government on Thursday and is likely to be voted on by MPs in the next parliamentary session, which begins later this month.
As there will be fewer than the 28-days’ notice required by the Constitution, it is likely that Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly will have to declare in writing that the bill is an urgent matter and cannot be delayed.
According to official wording, the bill, which is being put forward by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Heritage, “seeks to provide for the prevention of sexual harassment and the introduction of remedies in circumstances where a person makes a sexual harassment complaint”.
If passed, the bill will enshrine in law what types of conduct can be called sexual harassment, the establishment of an Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal and the size of fines that can be imposed on offenders.
First discussed in 2005
The creation of a law to counter the widespread problem of sexual harassment has been under discussion in the Cayman Islands for many years. The idea was first proposed by the Young Business and Professional Women’s Club 20 years ago. The group’s work highlighting stalking and sexual harassment faced by women in Cayman prompted the start of work on the legislation that year.
It took until 2012, however, for a proposed version of the bill to be published by the Law Reform Commission, but it was not allocated at that time to be debated in Parliament.
Cheryl Myles, president of the Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Club of Grand Cayman, told the Cayman Compass that it “has been a long process” getting to this point, but she welcomed the fact that the bill was going to be debated in Parliament.
“It just kept getting put back on the shelf,” she said. “Maybe some people felt that the country had other pressing things to deal with at the time.”
If the legislation, which is understood to have support from across the House, is passed, Myles said, “It will highlight what is and what isn’t acceptable behaviour. Workplaces are already putting sexual harassment policies in place ahead of the legislation.”
She said that the bill should help protect people from unwanted sexual behaviour.
“It is a problem faced by a lot of women here, and men can also be victims of this behaviour too,” she said.
Not strong enough says BPW
Myles raised concerns, however, that in the proposed legislation, the maximum penalty was an order to pay up to $20,000 in compensation.
“We have already been having discussions about that and a lot of us felt that it wasn’t enough. Sexual harassment causes so much emotional distress and the penalties should be stiffer,” she said.
The Business and Professional Women’s Club, she added, would definitely be putting pressure on politicians to make the bill stronger.
Under the wording of the bill, sexual harassment can take many forms, including making unwelcome sexual comments, gestures or advances, sending unwanted sexual images, or making employment conditional on receiving sexual advances or being sexually harassed.
The legislation will require all employers to have a sexual harassment policy in the workplace, including what action will be taken to deal with harassment and not disclosing the name of the complainant except where necessary.
The proposed law also forbids sexual harassment at institutions and organisations, by landlords towards tenants, or in professional circumstances such as transactions relating to property or services.
Tribunal created
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal will be set up to hear complaints and will be composed of seven Cabinet appointees: three attorneys and four experts in related fields. The tribunal will have the power to order an offender to compensate their victim up to $20,000, with a non-payment penalty of $5,000 and/or one year in prison. If a complaint is found to have been “frivolous or vexatious”, then a fine of up to $10,000 can be levied on the complainant.
Isaac Rankine, Minister for Youth, Sports and Heritage who is bringing the bill before Parliament, told the Compass, “Having only recently gained responsibility for the Gender Affairs Unit, which has been the driving force behind the newly gazetted Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, I am impressed with the Unit’s commitment and dedication to addressing this long-standing social issue.
“This Bill seeks to prevent sexual harassment and to introduce solutions in circumstances where a person makes a sexual harassment complaint. It is important that sexual harassment complaints and situations are clearly dealt with in the workforce; and that policies and systems are in place to resolve these concerns. Sexual harassment has been an issue discussed for many years and I am grateful to be a part of a government that recognizes the importance of moving this Bill forward.”
The Bill is expected to be brought to Parliament at the next sitting in 2025.
The Compass, in a project in 2021, demonstrated that sexual harassment was extremely common and chronically underreported in Cayman.
A total of 90% of respondents in one of the Compass polls in that series said they had been sexually harassed.
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