NASSAU, BAHAMAS — In response to Press Secretary Clint Watson’s comments last week about activists not speaking up about the ‘marital rape’ issue, Equality Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace yesterday said Watson’s comments are completely untrue.
“What the press secretary said is an outright lie and we are certain that it is intentional that he is making this comment as he did mischaracterizing work of feminists organizations, of women’s rights organizations, painting the picture that we are inactive or that we are silent.” Wallace said.
She added that The Bahamas will, in several months report to the Human Rights Council and following that, to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the government is expected to uphold the policies of those entities having signed on to them.
Wallace continued: ”So the government has to submit its report, it has to speak for itself and give a reason as for why it doesn’t meet some obligations why it isn’t in full compliance
“So we are certain that Clint Watson is making these statements clearly knowing that they are untrue with the intent of creating this excuse and with the intent also the f trying to discourage activists.”
Watson claimed that activists were ‘silent’ on the marital rape issue implying that government would only act if they hear the cries of the people.
Wallace said that her organization has been persistent for months in communication with the government on issues surrounding the proposed marital rape legislation.
”Activists have been speaking up on this issue for years as the press Secretary and someone who was once a part of the fourth estate we know that he is very aware of statements that have been made by equality Bahamas. […] and anyone who is worth their salt working in the government, particularly on issues of human rights will know all of this,” she said.
Wallace told Eyewitness News that policymakers need to be more accountable for following through with their commitments with international human rights organizations and taking a stance against ‘marital rape’ is in line with those policies.
She said: ”I don’t think that there should be a question of whether or not the government is going to pass the bill, decriminalize marital rape. We do see some of our recommendations have been taken into consideration which is how we know that the government knows that human rights groups are speaking up.”
The human rights activist says she is dissatisfied with the government’s response to the matter, pointing out that certain issues are settled more quickly than others and that certain groups are embraced and given more of an open ear two when voicing their concerns.
“It did seem for a little while like it was speeding up that things were going to move along but we see the pause again.
”If you take this and put it in contrast with other kinds of bills for example if the Bahamas is out in a blacklist or there’s a threat that we’re going to be on a blacklist, they pass these financial bills in days we don’t even know about it, there’s no discussion about it they just know we need to do this thing to protect the financial industry […]
”But when it comes to human rights and in particular the protection of women and human rights there are all these discussions and they have to have all these conversations with these other stakeholders and in the case of marital rape it was quite frustrating because we have been reaching out to various government officials for months […] and then getting no answer or being told that we have to wait and then we see in the press that social services and urban development is planning to meet with the church.”
Wallace said following the marital rape symposium in September, her organization expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s execution of the event which was not properly orchestrated.
“It was a huge issue because they set it up like a debate,” she said.
”They had some people who were like on the yes criminalize side and some people who were on the no do not criminalize side and they had been giving presentations as if though this was an issue of those two sides and it’s not.
”Our position at Equality Bahamas is that this is an issue of human rights and of ending violence in particular gender-based violence. […] it’s not a two sided issue.”
She added that in the meantime more consultation is necessary before a final decision is made.
“It’s not something we can debate we signed off on it the government has said yes these are the rights, these are the things we need to do now it’s the question of how we do it.”
Loading ...
