Bahamas PM urges all ladies to report sexual abuse to the police

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis is encouraging all ladies, together with those that are married, to make complaints to the police, if they’re victims of sexual violence.

“What I say to any lady, married or not, if they’re aggrieved by being assaulted by anybody, they need to report it to the police. The regulation takes into consideration the separation of individuals who would have had a wedding.

“Any assault on a girl, be it whether or not you name it rape, grievous hurt or in any other case, the regulation ought to take its course. Report these incidents to the police,” Davis instructed reporters following the discharge of a brand new examine by the College of The Bahamas that explored the prevalence of spousal rape and assaults inside marriages.

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The examine, undertaken between September and October this 12 months, collected information from 1,700 ladies with 455 being married. They had been requested about their experiences of rape and sexual abuse of their present relationships.

The examine sought to quantify the extent of the problem towards the backdrop that there was elevated outcry for the criminalization of rape inside marriage because the offense doesn’t exist in Bahamian regulation.

It discovered that one in 12 or an estimated 4,000 married ladies have been raped by their husbands, suggesting additionally that an estimated 6,000 wives claimed to be victims of sexual abuse.

The researchers discovered that total, married ladies had been extra more likely to be sexually abused than a single lady by an intimate companion.

The Bahamas Disaster Centre estimates that three of each 4 victims of sexual violence don’t report the matter to the police.

The Royal Bahamas Police Drive stated 1,811 sexual offenses – rape, tried rape, and illegal sexual activity – had been reported between January 1, 2010, and Might 31, 2021. There have been 872 studies of rape throughout that interval, making it probably the most reported sexual offense.

Underneath the regulation, there will be no rape in marriage in The Bahamas.

The Sexual Offences Act does embrace an offense known as sexual assault by a partner, however provided that the couple has a decree nisi of divorce; a decree of judicial separation; a separation settlement; or an order of a court docket for the particular person to not molest or cohabit together with his partner.

The Davis administration has drafted a invoice that can criminalize marital rape. The proposed Sexual Offences (Modification) Act seeks to criminalize marital rape and redefine consent.

CMC/