EDITOR, The Tribune.

Equality Bahamas continues to sound the alarm, alerting The Bahamas that gender-based violence, particularly against women and girls, is a public health crisis. The marital rape bill has been stalled, stuck in an ineffective and harmful false debate that this administration has allowed to take the place of proper, productive consultation. It must be made clear that rape is rape, and there is no circumstance or relationship that provides an excuse for rape. That women are human beings is not debatable. That women have human rights is not debatable. It is the responsibility of the government, not to listen to the violent opinions of rapists and rape apologists, but to articulate and act on its position as a dutybearer that must ensure that women have full access to all of their human rights.

A Member of Parliament was accused of physical and sexual violence as well as alleged threats of death more than three months ago, and there is no action resulting from the slow investigation. The accused Member of Parliament continues to hold his position, and has not been pressured by the Prime Minister or any parliamentarian to remove himself from parliament.

“In my opinion this is a clear disregard and lack of respect and care, by this administration, for survivors of sexual violence and other forms of intimate partner violence. It has no concern for the woman who went to great lengths to report to the police and later to the media. Its inaction appears to be support for abuse of power, whether perceived or realized, by the Member of Parliament,” said Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas. “Based on the way the government mishandled this case, it should be no surprise that the government attempted to dupe civil society with its complete reversal on the Gender-Based Violence bill, replacing it with another bill while pretending it is meant to have the same effect.”

The Gender-Based Violence bill has been replaced, with no notification to civil society —with the exception of a single organisation the government claims to have “consulted”— with a meaningless “Protection Against Violence” bill that is void of any reference to gender —the primary factor in gender-based violence.

The Government of The Bahamas voluntarily ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. In 2018, the CEDAW Committee called for adoption of the Gender-Based Violence bill, criminalization of marital rape, and ensuring cases of gender-based violence are investigated and prosecuted. The “Protection Against Violence” bill does not meet international human rights standards.

Ms Wallace said: “Not only does the nonsense ‘Protection Against Violence’ bill offer no protection, but its title alone undercuts the purpose of the legislative and policy reform recommended to address gender-based violence which is to transform society by prevention and intervention rather than attempting to function (through protection) in a dysfunctional, patriarchal society that necessitates protection. This does not move us forward.”

Equality Bahamas calls upon the Prime Minister and the Minister of Social Services and Urban Renewal to immediately withdraw the “Protection Against Violence” bill.

Ms Wallace said: “We encourage Prime Minister Davis and Minister Wilchcombe to seek education on gender-based violence, its causes, and the laws, policies, and measures that must be implemented to prevent and intervene in cases of gender-based violence. This will, undoubtedly, lead them to return to the Gender-Based Violence bill which is more substantive and specifically addresses this pressing issue.”

Equality Bahamas urges the Government of The Bahamas to invest in public education on gender and gender-based violence rather than avoiding the issue and blaming the general public for its failure to appropriately address it. Regardless of its supposed perception of the Bahamian public as ignorant and incapable of learning, as expressed in its excuse for switching the bills, the government must fulfill its obligations to ensure full access to human rights for everyone including women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people.

Equality Bahamas is a feminist organisation that promotes women’s and LGBTQI+ people’s rights as human rights through advocacy, public education, and community engagement.

EQUALITY BAHAMAS

August 7, 2023