The Executive Council has approved amendments to Anguilla’s Prison Act which aim to bring it in line with modern standards of gender equality and good governance.
The legislation addresses an inconsistency in the current law that limits certain powers and protections to male prison officers.
The Prison (Amendment) Bill, 2025, if enacted in the Anguilla House of Assembly, will ensure that actions lawfully performed by female officers are fully validated.
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The amendments came before council members on 8 October, and minutes of the meeting were published on 11 November.
The minutes said that the Prison Act currently “creates a gender-specific inconsistency which does not align with current employment practices or the constitutional principle of equality”.
Members approved the bill as drafted by the Attorney General’s Chambers and directed that it be submitted to the Anguilla House of Assembly for debate and enactment.
They noted that the amendment brings the Prison Act into conformity with modern standards of equality, good governance and legal clarity, the minutes added.
Read the Prison Act in full here.
