By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement chairman Dr Duane Sands said the government’s silence on implementing the Protection Against Violence Commission shows that women are not a priority for the Davis administration, despite the fanfare that accompanied its passage of the Protection Against Violence Act.

He expressed concern for people like Chiquia Rolle, a woman who told The Tribune last week that she fears for her life. She was allegedly physically assaulted in front of her three children, sustaining severe head injuries from a knife. Her alleged assailant was charged only with property damage and assault with a deadly weapon. He has been granted bail, leaving her fearful of what he may do.

Dr Sands said: “Sadly, the issue of women’s rights and gender-based violence is on the back burner for this administration. It is not a priority.” 

“We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on capital works and no-bid contracts. We have spent countless millions on luxury travel, but $500,000 to shelter abused women is not a priority.”

The Protection Against Violence Commission was intended to work with police officers and ensure sufficient shelters are available for victims across the country.

Alicia Wallace, director of the non-profit organisation Equality Bahamas, recently echoed Dr Sands’ concerns. She said the lack of an effective framework endangers individuals like Ms Rolle.

“The very least that this country can do, that this government can do, is to ensure that the 30-year-old young woman has protection at all times, is safely housed, has all of her basic needs met, and remember that domestic violence and intimate partner violence often follow women to work. Ensure that she does not need to appear at work when under threat,” she said.

Social Services Minister Myles Laroda has not responded to The Tribune’s requests for comment on the status of the commission in the last week.