By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

BISHOP Simeon Hall is calling for churches to “boldly decry” instances of sexual abuse — including within families and between married couples.

In a statement released over the weekend, the former Bahamas Christian Council president asserted “rape has very little to do with sexual gratification,” noting the criminal act is instead rooted in a need to exert power and dominate.

He added a low view of women combined with men who have an “unbalanced sense of superiority” and an inability to “handle female rejection” contributes to a rise in sexual assault and rape.

In response to the plague of sexual violence in the country, Bishop Hall called for victims to stop being blamed for the actions of their attackers — noting this constitutes “a second assault”.

He also called for victims to receive counselling and to be given the space and time to heal from their ordeal.

“The recent announcement by the commissioner of police, Mr Anthony Ferguson, that a special unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force will be charged with the primary responsibility of addressing the escalation of rape and sexual assault cases is indeed commendable,” Bishop Hall said.

“However, only a total national premium attached to the value and the worth of women will lead to a decline in the ghastly act of rape.

“Too many Bahamian men have a low view of women and too many Bahamian women accept and promote a low self-image of themselves and of other women,” Bishop Hall continued.

“Psychologists tell us that men who have an unbalanced sense of superiority toward women and cannot handle female rejection are more likely to assault them. Rape has very little to do with sexual gratification, but more to do with attempts to dominate and exertion of power.”

Bishop Hall called for men to recognise women as being equal in their “intrinsic human worth”.

He also listed recommendations for churches’ confidential counselling ministries on how to deal with this matter.

“Churches need to talk more openly and honestly about the gift of sex and boldly decry instances of sexual abuse, including among family members and between married couples,” he said.

He also called for church leaders not to tell victims and survivors that God allowed such “atrocities” in order to “make them stronger”.

“Rape survivors should file a police report as soon as possible. Survivors should also seek medical attention as soon as feasible, even in unfortunate instances where survivors choose not to file a police report immediately or at all.

“Church leaders should not cheapen the ordeal by hurriedly telling the victim to forgive their attackers and move on.

“Survivors should be given the space and time needed to deal with the physical and emotional turmoil which accompany their assault, and more importantly the tools to do assist them in doing so.”

In February, Bahamas Crisis Centre Director Sandra Dean-Patterson said the Bahamas has an “epidemic” of sexual violence.

She referenced the national 2015 “Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence,” which studied data from 2000-2013 and found The Bahamas has “the highest incidence of rape per capita in the Caribbean.”

The report notes: “The UN Women narrative on gender-based violence in Caribbean cites: ‘While the worldwide average for rape was 15 per 100,000, The Bahamas had an average of 133, St Vincent and the Grenadines 112, Jamaica 51, Dominica 34, Barbados 25 and Trinidad and Tobago 18.”

Last year, police reported a six percent rise in reported rapes, noting there were 55 cases in 2018 compared with 52 in 2017.

Meanwhile, marital rape has long been a controversial issue in the Bahamas, with Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell saying in January that the government can no longer ignore calls for legislation.

Last July, Attorney General Carl Bethel said the government would likely not move forward with bringing a Marital Rape Bill to the House of Assembly until sometime this year.

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