By EARYEL BOWLEG 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis stressed yesterday that he wants “consensus” to criminalise marital rape and to understand what a cross-section of Bahamians want on the issue, “not just one group”.

Critics have noted that successive administrations have changed laws

on divisive issues without requiring consensus. The Christie administration regularised the gaming industry even after a referendum in which most voters opposed it, and the Davis administration changed the cannabis regime despite opposition from some in the religious community.

“That was then; this is now, and my position is that I want consensus,” Mr Davis said yesterday, contrasting how he wants to handle the marital rape issue with the Progressive Liberal Party’s actions on gaming.

“This is a very divisive matter,” he added. “You have arguments on both sides.”

“I will touch it once I get a full understanding of what Bahamians as a whole want and not just one group, one group on either side of the divide. I want to have some consensus as to what has to happen before we move forward.”

In 2022, the Davis administration presented a simple solution for criminalising marital rape, proposing to change the definition of rape in the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act by removing the words “who is not his spouse”.

However, Attorney General Ryan Pinder revealed earlier this month that the administration does not expect to introduce the legislation before the end of its term to criminalise marital rape, suggesting that every administration has grappled with political calculations concerning the issue.

Although the discussion about criminalising marital rape centres around the definition of rape in law, Mr Davis repeatedly questioned why people are using the words “marital rape”.

“In so far as rape is concerned, you don’t describe it,” he said. “Why you want to describe rape? Rape is rape. Marital is descriptive. We all lament and abhor any man who would inflict violence on his wife, and rape is an act of violence. There are laws to deal with it in a particular way. In so far as I said, we do not need to what I call describe rape. When you start describing rape,

you then get into more legal issues.”

Mr Davis also said he invites critics to examine the Protection Against Violence Act to see how the government has addressed issues relating to violence against women.

That law does not address rape in a marriage, and government officials have not been forthcoming about the establishment of the Protection Against Violence Commission, which would play a critical role in accomplishing the law’s objectives. The Tribune’s months-long search for updates on the commission’s status has been fruitless.

“Hopefully, the government is finally looking to address the Protection Against Violence Act and that we will have an authority,” Bahamas Crisis Centre director Dr Sandra Dean Patterson said yesterday, adding the authority is needed to “bring everyone together”.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event launching the Urban Renewal Authority, Dr Dean-Patterson called on the administration to reconsider its stance on criminalising marital rape. However, she acknowledged that the word “marital” creates confusion for some.

“We’re talking violence, we’re talking about savagery, we’re talking about hurt and pain and that no one should have to live in that situation,” she said.

Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard reiterated yesterday that he believes there should be legal consequences for people who commit rape in a marriage.

“While the Progressive Liberal Party cowers in fear of losing votes, the FNM is not afraid to address this issue with the seriousness victims deserve,” he said.