The Penal Code defines and prohibits criminal offenses. Section 160 of the Code permits abortion in cases where the pregnancy would involve risk of injury to physical or mental health and in cases of fetal impairment, rape, defilement or incest. The abortion must be carried out by a registered medical practitioner and with the consent of two medical practitioners. In 1998, the Penal Code Act was amended to make the offence of rape gender-neutral and to move away from a phallus-specific definition. The Amendment introduced a minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum term of life imprisonment and made bail unavailable to persons accused of the offense. The amendment also made mandatory HIV testing for persons convicted of rape, and in the case wherein rape was accompanied by additional violence or the rapist was unaware of his or her HIV+ status, a minimum sentence of 15 years with corporal punishment was introduced. For cases wherein the convicted person was aware of his or her HIV status, the minimum sentence was set at 20 years imprisonment with corporal punishment. Further, in 2018, sections of the Penal Code were amended to increase the age of defilement of persons under 16 years of age to 18 years of age.
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