By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

SENATOR Michela Barnett Ellis has accused the Davis administration of lacking the courage to criminalise marital rape, contrasting its hesitancy on the issue with the bold legislative moves the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has made in the past, such as legalising gaming despite opposition from religious groups and others.

“This PLP administration is not so brave. They are scared,” she said in the Senate on Monday.

She pointed to Prime Minister Philip Davis’ own words from February 2022 when he declared, “rape is rape”, and to the Attorney General’s assurance that legislation had been drafted to reflect that position. However, she highlighted how, just this month, the attorney general suggested there was no political will to pass a law criminalising marital rape.

“The refusal to criminalise marital rape is a condonation of violence against women,” she said, arguing that the government is more afraid of backlash than committed to protecting its citizens.

Mrs Barnett Ellis further questioned how the country’s foreign service officers were expected to defend the government’s contradictory stance on women’s rights on the international stage.

“How,” she asked, “are foreign service officers supposed to explain — that while this administration says all of the appropriate things condemning violence against women and girls, its actions have been limited to rushing through a piece of legislation (the Protection Against Violence Act), that has been barely implemented, and a refusal to criminalise marital rape?”

Her comments came during a Senate debate on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bill and Foreign Service Bill, where she also condemned lenient sentencing for sexual offenders.

She referenced a recent case in which a father received only five years in prison for sexually assaulting his three-year-old twin daughters.

“The lawyers wanted less, and I am grateful to the court for rejecting that foolishness,” she said. “They are his flesh and blood. His heirs. They are innocent. Too young to fight back. And five years does not feel like enough of a punishment for his heinous actions.”

She also denounced a ruling where a police officer was fined $15,000 after attempting to solicit sex from a 13-year-old girl.

“A police officer, a law enforcement officer with a duty to serve, protect, and enforce the laws of this country got fined for trying to have sex (unlawfully) with a 13-year-old,” she said, expressing outrage at the disparity in sentencing.

She called for tougher penalties, particularly an increase in the maximum sentence for indecent assault, which currently stands at seven years.

“We need to increase that! We need to send the clear message that sexual offences are extremely serious, and sentences will reflect our non-tolerance for this behaviour,” she said.

She argued that the government has been selective in its courage.

“It is unacceptable, disgusting, and heartbreaking that this courage to do what is necessary in the face of opposition is limited to financial gain but is absent when needed to protect the safety and dignity of women,” she said.

“We have been waiting for a hero, an administration that will protect us and our children. But it is time for us to rescue ourselves,” she added, calling on Bahamian women to take action themselves.

She urged more women to step forward as candidates in the next general election to ensure long-overdue protections for women and girls are finally implemented.