NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday that a report and 10-point plan to tackle gender-based violence that was produced under the last Christie administration was shelved by the Minnis administration.
During his contribution to the budget debate, Wilchcombe said that the report and recommendations produced by the National Task Force for Gender-Based Violence “sat on a shelf collecting dust” since 2016.
“I found it so interesting because the work was already done. I couldn’t figure out why it sat on a shelf collecting dust since 2016 and why was it that it was not visited by the ministers. Why was that shelf just ignored,” said Wilchcombe.
He noted that the report, “A Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence outlined a 10-point plan to tackle what he described as a serious and vexing issue in the country.
The 10 “low hanging fruit” the report recommended included such recommendations as to the creation of a unified family court system; a national community awareness program; the creation of a Department of Family and Gender Affairs; a sexual assault response team and a national early intervention program for children exposed to violence.
Wilchcombe said: “This is a vexing issue and we have been talking about it repeatedly for so long but the work was done and work has to be done.”
He told Parliament that he reached out to Dr Robin Roberts to spearhead a committee on the issue.
He continued: On the matter pertaining to marital rape, it is a discussion we are going to have. I have heard church leaders call for more discussions and I have suggested dates when we will sit and discuss, We have to get to the bottom of this and ensure that when we represent the country at international bodies we can speak authoritatively on the way we are going and how we are moving forward. It’s time we arrive at a conclusion on the way or the other.”
