FLC unveils English translations of 6 Maldives laws

Local NGO Family Legal Clinic (FLC) on Sunday published English translations of six laws in Maldives, all related to family and domestic violence, sexual offences and gender equality.

According to the NGO which provides pro bono legal advice to individuals with family-related or domestic violence issues, the translations were compiled in partnership with LexisNexis Southeast Asia, with grant assistance from Australian Aid.

The translated Acts include:

- Family Act (Consolidated), Law Number 4/2000

- Special Provisions Act to Deal with Sexual Abuse Offenders of Children, Law Number 12/2009

- Domestic Violence Act, Law Number 3/2012

- Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Harassment Act, Law Number 16/2014

- Sexual Offences Act, Law Number 17/2014

- Gender Equality Act, Law Number 18/2016

This also marks the first English translations for the 'Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Harassment Act' and 'Sexual Offences Act', as well as the consolidated Family Act.

“At FLC, we believe that it is important to be able to find legislations and their translations in one platform. We hope the publication of the laws will prove to be useful in treaty reporting and also in the practice of law students, legal community and public at large", said Sweiza Naeem, vice chairperson of FLC.

The NGO was founded in 2014 in collaboration with Hope for Women to provide pro bono legal consultations in the areas of the Family Act and Domestic Violence Act. Officially registered as an NGO in 2017, FLC works with a dedicated team of lawyers and an in-house legal resource person.

In 2019, FLC provided 261 consultations and serviced 201 clients (145 women and 56 men), as well as reached over 387 people in awareness programmes. Many of their clients are located outside the greater Male’ region with little to no access to the legal system.