Govt. to launch GBV public education campaign
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A 32-year-old man of Jones Heights was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court today on two counts of attempted murder and one count of exposing a child to grievous harm.
Ray Latarieo Sands was charged in connection to the viral circulated earlier this week, of a man assaulting a woman and subsequently running her over with a car.
He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correction Services until February 2022, when he is expected to return to court.
The video shows the woman being dragged and beaten along the street as she seemingly holds an infant in her arms. The man is then seen beating the woman near a vehicle, hitting her multiple times before a woman attempts to intervene to get him to stop but then grabs the baby to take her to safety.
The man can then be seen going into the nearby vehicle and taking something out before he continues to attack her until a young girl steps in.
Minutes later the man gets into the vehicle and drives off while the woman lay in the middle of the street and the young girl tries to move her.
However, a car comes speeding down the street and his and rolls over the woman, and then crashes into a wall.
The incident has sparked renewed calls to address violence against women and children in the country as officials confirm a recent uptick in gender-based violence throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe told reporters on Thursday that his ministry is seeking to address the matter through legislation and through public education campaigns.
“I intend to speak about those issues and speak about the new initiatives being taken by my ministry because it is imperative that we do something about it,” Wilchcombe said.
“We don’t want to find ourselves here in another year going through the same thing.”
He said his ministry relies on public relations and advertisements to teach the public about conflict resolution and how to choose love.
The discussion also comes on the heels of the recent death of four-year-old D’Onya “Bella” Walker from blunt force trauma to her body, after being brutally beaten.
Earlier this week Ann-Marie Davis, wife of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, suggested the Royal Bahamas Police Force create a Special Victims Unit (SPV) to specifically handle children and gender-based violence matters.
The court yesterday also heard another domestic-related incident involving a 32-year-old woman who was charged with causing grievous harm.
Lasade Rolle, of Quarry Mission Road, appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly and is accused of pouring boiling water on her boyfriend — who reportedly sustained burns to his body.
She was remanded to prison until Monday.
