Activists demand consultation on criminalization of marital rape (Eyewitness News)

Press
Aug. 23, 2022 – Eyewitness News

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Eyewitness News on August 23, 2022.

From Eyewitness News:

“We have requested the draft amendment bill, and we have requested meetings with the Attorney General and the Minister of Social Services and Urban Development. We have received neither, and note that it was announced earlier this month that the Minister would meet with religious leaders this month,” said Alicia Wallace, Director of Equality Bahamas.

“It is quite telling that the government continues to prioritize religious leaders who frequently oppose the recognition and expansion of women’s human rights while it ignores organizations promoting and advocating for the rights of women.”

The group launched the #Strike5ive campaign to criminalize marital rape on International Women’s Day in 2019 and has since sent recommendations to the government. During the Global 16 Days Campaign in 2021, Equality Bahamas included the criminalization of
marital rape in its six demands. This issue was also included in the 16 recommendations from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee that were highlighted during the campaign.

The #Strike5ive campaign calls for marital rape to be criminalized through the amendment of Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act—removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of marital rape—and the repeal of Section 15 on “sexual assault by spouse.” It clearly states that temporal limitations and the requirement of the Attorney General’s consent are unacceptable and harmful.

The campaign also calls for inclusion of a statutory definition of consent and a clause of non-immunity on the basis of marriage.

Wallace said: “We are preparing our reports for treaty bodies this month, and it would be helpful to see the current draft and how it may change following consultation.”

Govt has not provided draft bill to campaigners (The Tribune)

Press

Aug. 22, 2022 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on August 22, 2022.

From The Tribune:

Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas, said: “We have requested the draft amendment bill, and we have requested meetings with the Attorney General and the Minister of Social Services and Urban Development. We have received neither, and note that it was announced that earlier this month that the minister would meet with religious leaders this month.

“It is quite telling that the government continues to prioritise religious leaders who frequently oppose the recognition and expansion of women’s human rights while it ignores organisations promoting and advocating for the rights of women.”

[…]

Equality Bahamas previously launched the #Strike5ive campaign in 2019 to criminalise marital rape, calling for the amendment of Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act by removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of rape, and the repeal of Section 15 on “sexual assault by spouse”.

Ms Wallace said: “We are preparing our reports for treaty bodies this month, and it would be helpful to see the current draft and how it may change following consultation.

“Without inclusion in the consultation process, we are left to focus on the government’s failure, thus far, to criminalise marital rape and its refusal to engage civil society in ways that strengthen democracy and prioritise human rights, especially the human rights of people in situations of vulnerability.”

On the Clock with Erin Greene : Gender Equality & The Nationality Act (Guardian Radio)

Aug. 17, 2022 – Guardian Radio 96.9FM

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Guardian Radio’s On the Clock with Erin Greene on August 17, 2022.

Tune in from 5:40 to hear about gender equality and the Nationality Act, our thoughts on the right to free sanitary products established in Scotland, marital rape, as well as gender and climate change,

Listen back to the replay below.

On the Clock with Erin Greene : #Strike5ive Campaign (Guardian Radio)

July 14, 2022 – Guardian Radio 96.9FM

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Guardian Radio’s On the Clock with Erin Greene on July 14, 2022.

We were On the Clock with Erin Greene on Guardian Radio 96.9FM from about 10:20am to 11am on July 14, 2022. Tune in from 29:56 to hear about our #Strike5ive campaign to criminalize #MaritalRape.

Listen back to the replay below.

‘We need specialists to encourage inclusion’ (The Tribune)

Press

July 14, 2022 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director, Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on July 14, 2022.

From The Tribune:

For its part, Equality Bahamas said in a statement yesterday there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, and the general approach is “lazy, ineffective, and results in inequity”.

“Equality Bahamas has consistently called for feminist policymaking, centering people in situations of vulnerability,” the statement said. “The prime minister said the focus is on ‘all Bahamians’, but it is not possible to meet all needs without recognising different identities and different circumstances, which directly impact needs and ability to access (and) to use available resources and services.

“There must be specific consideration of women and girls, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, people experiencing poverty, elderly people, and other marginalised groups. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, and the general approach is lazy, ineffective, and results in inequity.”

ORG looks to youth to tackle gender violence (The Tribune)

Press

July 6, 2022 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas featured in The Tribune on July 6, 2022.

From The Tribune:

This group’s GBV programme provided a platform for participants to speak with experts that are a part of NGOs Equality Bahamas and The Bahamas Crisis Centre to get a better understanding of the issue.

ORG’s Executive Director, Matt Aubrey noted: “Unsurprisingly, one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to eliminate GBV within the next nine years. We are proud of the 23 youth activists who have shown such great interest and commitment to raising awareness and adding to the momentum toward ending violence against women and girls.”

 

PMH child ‘incident’ is probed by police (The Tribune)

Press

June 27, 2022 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas featured in The Tribune on June 27, 2022.

From The Tribune:

 

Advocacy group Equality Bahamas told The Tribune yesterday that there needed to be a full investigation into the incident.

“There needs to be a full investigation into the incident to determine not only what happened, but how because the institution has failed to maintain a safe environment and protect a patient who is a minor,” the organisation told The Tribune yesterday.

“In addition to identifying and prosecuting the perpetrator, the minor needs to be properly treated and provided with psychosocial support. The general public must be reminded, in the midst of outrage, that a minor is being discussed and that person and their loved ones have access to this discourse, likely to include misinformation, which can be harmful and disruptive to access to justice and healing.

“Further, it is critical that we hold institutions accountable for what occurs on their premises and see to it that safeguards are implemented. There should be no opportunity to violate a child anywhere.”

Campaign launched to criminalise marital rape (The Tribune)

Press

Mar. 31, 2022 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas co-director Lauren Glinton featured in The Tribune on March 31, 2022.

From The Tribune: 


EQUALITY Bahamas has announced the launch of its Strike5ive campaign to criminalise marital rape in the strongest, most explicit way.

According to a press release from the group, it calls on the government to criminalise marital rape by removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of rape in Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act, repealing Section 15 on sexual assault by a spouse, adding a statutory definition of consent to the Act, and including of a clause on non-immunity on the basis of a marital relationship.

There must be no temporal limitation and no requirement of the attorney general’s consent or any other barriers to reporting, the group said.

“Rape remains one of the most under reported crimes around the world. Criminalisation of marital rape and an improved reporting process will ensure that all women, regardless of their marital status, are protected by the law, able to report, and have access to justice,” said Lauren Glinton, Global 16 Days campaign coordinator at Equality Bahamas.

Equality Bahamas continues to call on the government to take action to come into compliance with international mechanisms — including Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Belém do Pará which states that violence against women includes violence “that occurs within the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal relationship[…] including, among others, rape, battery and sexual abuse.”

On the Clock with Erin Greene : #Strike5ive Campaign & CEDAW (Guardian Radio)

March 30, 2022 – Guardian Radio 96.9FM

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Guardian Radio’s On the Clock with Erin Greene on March 30, 2022.

We were On the Clock with Erin Greene on Guardian Radio 96.9FM from about 10:20am to 11am on March 30, 2022. Tune in from 24:08 to hear about CEDAW,  our #Strike5ive campaign to criminalize #MaritalRape, and citizenship rights.

Listen back to the replay below.

Bethel: Marital rape needs to be called rape (The Nassau Guardian)

Press

Mar. 21, 2022 –  The Nassau Guardian

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Nassau Guardian on March 21, 2022.

From The Nassau Guardian:

Equality Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace said she supports Bethel’s view because “rape is rape”.

“It’s something that we continue to repeat,” Wallace said.

“It doesn’t matter what you put in front of rape. You can call it marital rape or whatever, but it’s still rape. Like you said, it’s a compromise and an unacceptable one. We also understand that laws help to create/maintain/shift culture and the way that people think about things.

“If we refuse to acknowledge that rape is rape and we leave section three as it is with that exception ‘whose not his spouse’ and create this new category, it’s like we’re validating these people.”

Wallace said there would be “serious fundamental issues” with changing the term.