By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BISHOP Walter Hanchell said legislators cannot deny the church “its say” on the issue of marital rape in response to some who criticise the government for continued consultations on the matter.

Last year, the government released for consultation the proposed Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill that seeks to criminalise marital rape and redefine the meaning of consent.

The draft legislation has been met with mixed reactions from religious leaders, with some believing rape cannot happen within a marriage.

 Bishop Hanchell, who has publicly opposed laws on marital rape, said his position on the issue has not changed.

 “First, of all there’s no such thing as marital rape,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Bahamas Business Outlook yesterday.

 “There’s rape. Anybody who abuses his wife, in any way, should be charged with assault, but not rape because it is different between a husband and wife. Yes, a husband could abuse his wife, but this is a moral issue and it should be dealt with strictly from a biblical perspective.

 “The way they are going about it, it’s going to destroy families.”

 The religious leader said while he will never support any man who abuses his wife, he also understands that there are perimeters in a marriage.

 “God has established holy matrimony, and the man should protect his wife and if a man gets to the point where he has to rape his wife, that is not a marriage and that man is like  an animal. So, I don’t support that,” Bishop Hanchell, of Great Commission Ministries, added.

 “But a woman and a man both have a responsibility, a husband and a wife, have a responsibility to make sure that they do not withhold their bodies from the other. Marriage is a covenant. When you get married, sex is a part of the covenant.”

 He also conceded that men liked sex, adding that if a woman did not like sex, then she should not get married.

 “If a woman does not like sex, she should not get married because men love sexual intercourse. Simple. It’s a part of the covenant and I believe that a lot of people are opposing it for the wrong reasons. A lot of people are supporting it for the wrong reasons, but I believe there should be unity in a marriage,” he said.

 “There should be love and harmony, not abuse. I don’t support abuse but at the same time, I am not promoting what they call marital rape. It’s not even in the Bible. It’s another agenda and we have to look at it from a different perspective.”

 Among the groups being consulted on the draft legislation are advocacy organisations, church leaders and others.

 However, some believe that the government has been relying too heavily on church leaders for their views on marital rape.

 Responding to critics yesterday, Bishop Hanchell said marital rape “as they call it” is a moral issue and such issues are dealt with by the church.

 In this vein, he said the church cannot be denied from sharing its views on the controversial topic.

“The church is the authority on moral issues,” he added, “and you cannot deny the church its say on any moral issue. That’s what we’re here for and I thank the Lord for The Bahamas Christian Council and ministers that stand with the truth that stand on the side of the word of God.

 “We have a responsibility to defend the word. We have to do it, whether we are liked or hated for our views and for what we stand for. We have to do it.”

 It is not clear when consultations on the proposed legislation will end or when laws to criminalise marital rape will be brought to Parliament.

 However, Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe told reporters earlier this month that officials are hoping to have consultations wrapped up in the next several weeks.