NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of State for the Public Service Pia Glover-Rolle said while she understood that Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe spoke as an attorney on the controversial ruling of a 40-year-old man who was sentenced to four years in prison after impregnating a 14-year-old schoolgirl, she can speak as a mother of three and a member of Parliament, whose constituents who are “very discontent of what is happening”.
After Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Franklyn Williams was accused by several activists and politicians of victim-blaming for his comment on the matter, Munroe suggested that the perpetrator should have received a lesser sentence because the victim had sex with him willingly, despite her being under the age of consent.
Responding to questions from Eyewitness News over the weekend, Glover-Rolle said she believes he made the statement “from a place of being an attorney”.
“So, I can make a statement from a place of being a mother; a mother of three daughters that understands that every day I am concerned about the safety of my children and their peers; of women; of people in our society.
“I can make a statement as a member of Parliament.
“As a member of Parliament and representative for Golden Gates, the constituents of my constituency are very discontent of what is happening.
“They did not like what transpired and they did not like the ultimate ruling.
“I speak for them when I get up in the House of Assembly and so they are discontent.
“I can also say as a policymaker with a seat at the table I must ensure, along with my colleagues, like Mr Munroe that we are using this information, using what we hear that is being said by the stakeholders, which are our citizens, to ensure we strengthen the law.
“The laws are what they are is basically what he said.
“Now, what are we going to do to reform and strengthen these laws?”
Glover-Rolle said the attorney general intends to present legislation to Cabinet for review with the intention of strengthening the law.
Noting that some laws on the books are antiquated, the minister said: “We’re working very hard to ensure that we’re capturing what needs to be amended in regard toward domestic violence, violence against women and girls in the law.”
She continued: “I am quite comfortable sitting at the table knowing that we are working hard towards this. It has been stated that in some instances constitutional reform is required. I say sometimes as women we may have voted against ourselves the last time. I didn’t, but that is because of a lack of education so this is what you see happening where there are forums; there are symposiums where we are having the conversation with the general public, so that the public can understand what the laws are, and then we can have the conversation to determine how we need to amend these laws to fit our modern society.”
When asked in a separate interview about the matter, Minister of State for Social Services and Urban Development Lisa Rahming said as a parent she does not blame the young girl or her mother, noting that as a minor placed in a “vulnerable position, anything is likely to happen”.
“I don’t entirely blame the child,” she said.
“And the reason for that is yes, we may say that she is 14-years-old and she may know the difference between right and wrong, but I would say she was misguided, [and] she was misled.
“She is still a minor and it doesn’t mean that minors cannot make good decisions, but I look at it as if a child is placed in a vulnerable position, anything is likely to happen.
“Think of when adults are placed in vulnerable positions, they sometimes make irrational decisions. And so, I look as she was misguided.”
Rahming said that as a parent she empathizes with other parents who entrust their children to those who they believe can be trusted and will do the right thing.
“Think of having somebody that you trust, it’s like a father; you’re not going to think negatively to say this is what the father is going to do and so I don’t entirely blame the mum, I don’t,” the minister continued.
Asked about Munroe’s remarks, which have become the subject of controversy, Rahming declined to comment, noting that “he has a right to make his comments and [give] his opinion; that’s his right.
She added: “So, I am not going to make any comment whether he was right or wrong. That’s his rights.”
The court heard that police reportedly found the teenager at the man’s home on January 14, 2020, after receiving a tip from an anonymous caller and reportedly met the young girl putting on her school uniform at an apartment on Shamrock Close in the Carmichael Road area.
She reportedly told police that she met Pratt on Facebook and had sex with him five times between June 2019 and January 2020.
The details of the case and the four-year plea deal given by the court have also been highly debated, with some calling for stricter penalties and better enforcement.
According to the Sexual Offences Act, section 11, any person who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a person between 14 and 16 years old, with or without their consent, is guilty of an offense and is liable to life in prison.
A joint statement from the women’s representation of the Free National Movement condemned the comments and called for their “counterparts in the PLP” to join in rebuke of the statements from the minister.
Munroe has since released a statement condemning adults who have sex with underage children, and outlined the current laws on sentencing as it relates to the matter. He said the government is “unified” in wanting to send a clear message to predators.
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