NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Participating in the Global 16 Days campaign with the theme Let’s End Femicide, Equality Bahamas has renewed its call for government action to end gender-based violence and the gender and sex-based killing of women and girls.
In a statement, Equality Bahamas underscored that gender-based violence is not limited to domestic violence and intimate partner violence, but also includes structural violence, and discriminatory laws.
“The law sets a standard and it informs behavior. There must be action to prevent and to intervene, and it cannot be limited to interpersonal relationships,” said Alicia Wallace, Director of Equality Bahamas.
“The legal exception in the Sexual Offences Act on rape, for example, wrongfully communicates that it is acceptable for men to rape their wives. In its supposed attempt to address this issue with an amendment to criminalize marital rape, the government has invited a debate on women’s human rights rather than acknowledging its obligation and taking the appropriate action. Ending gender-based violence requires legislative reform.”
Equality Bahamas continued its call for the criminalization of marital rape with its #Strike5ive campaign that highlights key elements which include the amendment of the definition of rape to remove “who is not his spouse,” a statutory definition of consent, and a clause of non-immunity on the basis of marriage. It also demanded the update and implementation of the National Strategic Plan to End Gender-based Violence that was produced in 2015.
The group underscored the Government of The Bahamas is obligated to uphold human rights, including its 1993 ratification Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In 2018, the CEDAW Committee made several recommendations, including the criminalization of marital rape and the implementation of the Strategic Plan.
Equality Bahamas said not only has the government failed to meet its obligation to women in The Bahamas, preventing women from fully accessing human rights, but it has also failed to educate the public on human rights and the multilateral organizations and agreements that hold it accountable.
The group urged the government to end the debate on women’s rights and take action to criminalize marital rape, and called on the public to join its campaign by sharing information and graphics available at tiny.cc/strike5ive.
Equality Bahamas is hosting its annual 16 Days event series including Aftershock: Femicide and the Family with therapist Jessica Russell and Khandi Gibson of Families of All Murder Victims on November 28 at 6pm, Building a Femicide Observatory with Myrna Dawson, Director of the Canadian Femicide Observatory on November 29 at 6pm, and a poetry workshop with poets Marion Bethel, Brittany Delaney, and writer and small press publisher Sonia Farmer on December 8 at 6pm.
All event details, recordings, and campaign resources will be available at tiny.cc/16days22.
