By: Robin Dawn Lynes, NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The recent headlines in our courts and newspapers have forced us to confront a painful truth: incest is not an isolated tragedy in The Bahamas it is a national crisis demanding urgent and coordinated action.
In April 2024, The Tribune reported that child abuse cases, including sexual abuse and
incest, had risen by an alarming 87 percent compared to the previous year. This statistic
is not just a number; it represents children whose trust and innocence have been
shattered within the very families meant to protect them.
Court cases over the past year bring the crisis into sharp focus. In July 2025, a Grand
Bahama man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for multiple counts of incest against a
child in his family. Earlier in March, another father was found guilty of abusing his daughter
over several years. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a disturbing pattern
revealed in research on Bahamian press reports, which shows that fathers, uncles, and other male relatives are most often the perpetrators, and that victims are typically pre-teens or young adolescents.
The secrecy surrounding incest, combined with cultural stigma, has too often left survivors
without justice and predators without accountability. Silence only protects the abuser. To
break this cycle, we must strengthen prevention, improve protection, and support
survivors with dignity and care.
First, we need stronger detection and reporting systems. Teachers, health workers,
clergy, and social workers must be legally required and properly trained to report
suspected abuse. Reporting mechanisms must be confidential, safe, and easy to access.
A 24/7 toll-free child protection hotline, well publicized in schools and clinics, would
ensure that no child is left without help.
Second, schools must become a frontline defense. Every Bahamian child should
receive age-appropriate education about body safety, consent, and how to report abuse.
Teachers must be trained to recognize the signs of abuse and respond in ways that
encourage disclosure rather than shut it down.
Third, we must strengthen survivor services. Child-friendly forensic interview teams,
immediate medical care, and free long-term counseling should be guaranteed and
accessible across all islands. Survivors should not have to navigate a maze of
bureaucracy while in crisis.
Fourth, our justice system must do better. Specialized training for judges and
prosecutors handling incest and child sexual abuse cases is essential. We need court processes that are sensitive to the trauma of child victims and sentences that both deter offenders and protect communities. A carefully managed sex offender registry, coupled with post-release supervision, would ensure ongoing accountability.
Fifth, we must invest in family support and community education. Parenting
programs, economic support for struggling families, and targeted interventions in
communities with high levels of stress can reduce the conditions that allow abuse to
fester. At the same time, nationwide awareness campaigns should challenge the culture
of secrecy, encourage reporting, and assure survivors that they will be supported, not
shamed.
Finally, we need better data and coordinated governance. A national child-protection database would allow us to track reports, prosecutions, and services in real time. An inter-agency task force bringing together Social Services, Health, Education, Police, Judiciary, and civil society, could set measurable targets and hold itself accountable to the Bahamian public through annual reporting.
Convictions and prison sentences are important, but they are not enough. They punish
harm after it has occurred; they do not prevent the harm in the first place. Our national
response must focus on prevention, early detection, and survivor care.
Incest is not a private family matter; it is a crime and a public-health emergency whose
victims are children who will carry the consequences into adulthood unless we act. Recent
convictions show our courts can deliver justice, but convictions alone will not stop the abuse from happening. Our response as a Nation must be prevention-focused, survivor-centred, and data-driven. There must be a readiness to partner with government, churches, schools, and civil society to implement public education, survivor support and advocacy for stronger laws and services.
If we act swiftly and collectively; improving reporting, increasing the number of trained
professionals, expanding services, and changing the culture that shields perpetrators, we
can protect children and hold abusers accountable. That is our obligation to our children
and to the future of this nation.
