NASSAU BAHAMAS — Emphasizing that women need more than “platitudes and promises”, The Bahamas Crisis Centre described the national outrage over highly publicized reports of gender-based violence (GBV) as a “wake-up call” for the country.
The non-profit’s Director Sandra Dean-Patterson cited recent allegations of sexual assault against a sitting Member of Parliament, the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl at a park by a repeat offender last week and the double homicide of a mother and daughter in a statement.
“GBV can occur in any socioeconomic bracket, as was clear in the incidents mentioned above. It is not something that only occurs in gangs or circumstances that we can often say: Oh it does not affect us all directly,” it read.
“GBC can occur under the cloak of any household; it is a broad-based social health issue that cannot be pushed aside.”
Patterson questioned how many more ‘wake-up calls’ the nation needs before it moves swiftly to address the social scourage.
“We need to establish a properly resourced Sexual Offences Court; we need to expand the capacity of the Police Forensics Unit to respond to the large numbers of reported sexual offenses,” she suggested.
“Sexual Offenders will continue to rape with impunity and without consequences until we become serious in our response to this global and national shame. The Bahamas Crisis Centre stands ready to continue to raise awareness on these issues and provide services for survivors, but we need more than platitudes and promises.”
The Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister also expressed “outrage” yesterday at what it described as the “recent escalation” of gender-based violence against women and girls.
The statement said recent events “speak to a sharp deterioration in relations between our men and women that
threatens the country’s social stability,” and offered condolences to the families of the victims involved.
It continued: “The evidence available to us strongly suggests that as a society, we are unable to sufficiently and satisfactorily resolve conflicts; too many instances of gender-based violence and domestic abuse go unreported; in many cases, men are failing miserably in their role to protect our women and girls; and generally, we are not being our neighbours’ keepers.
“More must be done systemically to empower our women and girls and to promote their economic independence. While the Office of the Spouse applauds the great work of Zonta Club, the Crisis Center, F.O.A.M., the Department of Gender Affairs and others to achieve this, we call for stronger social partnerships between our government and these NGO’s in the form of greater financial support and resource allocations to these institutions.”
The Office similarly pledged to continue raising public awareness while advocating for “stronger and more aggressive” social policies.
