By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A TEAM is being established to deal with issues related to gender-based violence, Press Secretary Clint Watson announced on Friday.

The team will take the form of help desks that will deal with both male and female based gender violence issues.

It was created after Minister for Social Services Obie Wilchcombe, tabled in Parliament a report on gender-based violence that had been shelved for a number of years.

Mr Watson said: “We’re putting in place a team of folks to deal with gender based issues, violence, dealing with women’s issues, men’s issues. The Ministry of Social Services are compiling all of those desks now and departments to put them together.”

Domestic abuse and violence has been a controversial matter for the Bahamian public, with two attempts at a referendum on marital rape being rejected by the public. The question of the age of consent has been another controversial issue.

Non-governmental organisations have asked for a task force to be created to deal with the matter of consent and statutory rape. They want the task force to be created with a joint parliamentary and NGO representation. To that, Mr Watson said: “It should not just be a parliamentary decision. I think it requires widespread discussion, and perhaps Town Hall meetings to hear people's views on it.

“The administration is concerned about moving forward on anything that is not of the will of the people and wants to move forward on these controversial issues prudently. “

“Prime Minister Davis does not govern in isolation. He governs on need and governs based on what’s important to the Bahamian people,” Mr Watson said.