Police ‘ill equipped’ for domestic abuse (The Tribune)

Press

Oct. 7, 2020 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on October 7, 2020.

From The Tribune:

 

A LOCAL activist yesterday criticised the Royal Bahamas Police Force for its “ill-equipped policing system” to effectively respond to the needs of domestic violence victims, saying more measures and community partnerships are needed to better protect vulnerable victims.

“Policing cannot be effective without building relationships with other government bodies, NGOs and members of the society,” said Equality Bahamas director, Alicia Wallace.

She was responding to remarks made by Police Commissioner Paul Rolle, who told reporters on Monday that police need facilities to house domestic violence victims trying to escape toxic environments.

[…]

Calling the matter “unacceptable”, Ms Wallace said Mr Rolle’s remarks show the RBPF’s disconnect from other agencies and society.

“The fact that the RBPF does not have access to safe houses underlines the point Equality Bahamas consistently makes about ill-equipped police and a policing system that fails to meet our needs,” she told The Tribune yesterday.

“It is unacceptable for police to say they have no safe houses when we know Social Services has responsibility for assisting in housing. It becomes clearer, day after day, that government ministries, departments and agencies are operating in isolation and fail to understand the broader system they operate in.

“They should know the resources and mandates of the other bodies and be able to make necessary connections.”

‘Educate to eradicate domestic violence’ (The Tribune)

Press

Oct. 1, 2020 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on October 1, 2020.

From The Tribune:

LOCAL activists are again calling on the government to implement the necessary tools to effectively address the needs of domestic violence victims.

They say more educational awareness is needed about the issue and also called for the creation of a special domestic unit in the police force.

Their calls come amid public outrage over the double homicide of a mother and daughter that occurred earlier this week, which police suspect is a result of a domestic dispute.

Women’s rights advocate Alicia Wallace (pictured) explained that Monday’s incident is just one of many that shows that there is a culture of violence in the country, which often targets women and children.

Deeming the issue “a public health crisis”, the Equality Bahamas director said the country now needs to address the broader issue of violence which is multifaceted and learn how to communicate effectively in nonviolent ways.

“We’ve been calling for more attention to gender-based violence and we have also been calling attention to corporal punishment,” she said. “We can excuse a woman being ‘disciplined’ by her husband or her boyfriend. We can excuse very extreme discipline of children by their parents or caretakers, but we will not excuse the murder of children.

“All of a sudden it’s an issue now that children are being affected, but we need to understand that violence, generally speaking, is a public health crisis because that’s what it is.

“We can no longer isolate these issues. What we’re dealing with is an inability to successfully communicate particularly in conflict. We need to learn across the board how to communicate in crisis and how to express displeasure without resorting to violence.”

Ms Wallace also said evidence has shown that domestic violence has increased in the country since the COVID-19 restrictions were first introduced.

Having known beforehand how the strict measures would impact the most vulnerable populations, Ms Wallace said activists have been sounding the alarm and calling for the government to introduce “feminist policy guidelines specifically for COVID-19.”

“We called for a specific domestic violence unit within the police department to ensure that there are people that are actually trained to deal with these calls because it’s no secret that people have made domestic violence calls or shown up to make a statement and have been dismissed,” she told The Tribune yesterday.

“There are times when police officers can be quite flippant. We need a specific unit with people who are sensitized to the issues and I mean are trained to properly respond to people.

“They need to be properly trained in not only responding and finding out what they need, but also making referrals. People need to be referred to the hospital, or the clinic or Social Services in getting assistance with temporary housing which we don’t have enough of.”

Hospital policy on seeing newborn babies is ‘cruel’ (The Tribune)

Press

July 17, 2020 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Our News on July 17, 2020.

From The Tribune:

A PRINCESS Margaret Hospital policy preventing parents from seeing their newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit is “unusual and cruel,” says Alicia Wallace, director of the human rights group Equality Bahamas.

She said many NICUs around the world have implemented strict COVID-19 policies that protect the health of everyone while allowing babies to experience the long-term benefits that come with spending time with their parents, including “reduced stress and increased likelihood of babies gaining weight.”

 

Activists unhappy about AG citizenship appeal (The Tribune)

Press

Jun. 18, 2020 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on June 18, 2020.

From The Tribune:

ACTIVISTS have criticised the Office of the Attorney General’s appeal of Justice Ian Winder’s landmark ruling on citizenship.

Local group Equality Bahamas and the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, an international organisation, said they welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying this is an important step towards upholding equal nationality rights for Bahamians without discrimination on the basis of gender or marital status.

In a joint statement, the organisations took issue with the government’s appeal of this decision.

“We are pleased with the interpretation of the Constitution as inclusive and rights-giving rather than restrictive and punitive,” said Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas and Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights coalition member. “It is unfortunate that the attorney general is positioning himself as a defender of the Constitution and his narrow view of it, rather than a defender of the people for whom the Constitution was written. We continued in our work toward constitutional reform and the expansion of women’s rights.”

Make it easier for victims to report sexual assault, says activist (Eyewitness News)

Press

Jun. 9, 2020 – Eyewitness News

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Eyewitness News on June 9, 2020.

From Eyewitness News:

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Equality Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace renewed calls for urgent policies to make reporting sexual assault and rape easier following a recent wave of rape and sexual allegations on social media.

Last week, dozens of Bahamian women began recounting stories of inappropriate behavior and unwanted advances.

Among those stories were allegations against a local youth activist, who was accused of inappropriate predatory behavior.

“We have always known that these things were happening,” Wallace told Eyewitness News in a recent interview.

“It’s just easier to ignore when nobody was talking about it.”
[…]

But Wallace insists that the problem lies in the difficultly for victims to report incidents.

“They don’t make it easy,” she said, noting that she was speaking from personal experience.

“It doesn’t seem that the police are getting training specifically on gender-based violence, domestic violence, and sexual violence because of the way people are treated when they go as if they are the perpetrator.

“You have a lot of people who are being silent about what’s happening to them for years and years.”

Wallace contended that social media has given many traumatized victims a way to open up and build community.

She stressed the challenges for women to come forward, given the element of victim-blaming that tends to come into play.

She said she believes that skepticism and disbelief drives other survivors to want to share their stories to know that they have also been through a similar experience,

“It’s been incredibly frustrating and saddening to read all of these stories and to have it confirmed that people are not reporting,” the human rights activist continued.

“For many reasons they are afraid. They don’t want to go through the process. They don’t think that people will believe them or these things are happening to them when they are minors and they don’t know how to tell their parents what is happening to them.”

Wallace noted that The Bahamas has bot been doing a good of protecting its children and must start having age-appropriate conversations about “touching, how to say no, how to say stops, how to talk about what makes them feel comfortable”.

But Wallace acknowledged that the conversation has reached this point of recognition before, pointing to the “Life in Leggings” movement which tackled gender-based violence in the Caribbean.

“It’s really up to us, up to the appropriate government agencies and up to NGOs to make sure the conversation don’t die down and that action is taken,” she said.

“The primary concern is for people who have shared their stories have support.

“We don’t know what they are going to face as a consequence of sharing that story.

“It’s not free. It doesn’t come without a cost. We need to ensure that there are resources in place for their mental health, physical safety, ensure they have safety plans that include social media, ensure they have access to counseling.”

She said reporting must be made easier – even if it can be done anonymously.

“The burden can longer just be on the people who experience these things.”

 

Equality Bahamas backs support for vulnerable (The Tribune)

Press

Apr. 20, 2020 — The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on April 20, 2020.

From The Tribune:

EQUALITY Bahamas has led the drafting and endorsement of a global feminist COVID-19 policy agenda that calls for countries to prioritise the needs of people in vulnerable environments, including women, the elderly, disabled, LGBT+, migrants and unhoused people.

Equality Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace sent copies of the manifesto to Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell and Department of Gender and Family Affairs Director Dr Jacinta Higgs.

“We draw attention to the pervasive issue of domestic violence which demands a specific response at all times and now requires a response that addresses the complications caused by broad measures which trap people in homes with abusers and limit opportunities to escape or identify and access support systems,” she wrote. “We call attention to the needs of unhoused people and migrant people for whom specific, responsive systems must be developed and operationalised. There is an overlap between social and economic inequality which, when unaddressed, can lead to abuse of power and criminalisation of vulnerabilities such as poverty. “We call for a review of current procedures, especially following the arrest of unhoused people for breaking curfew when there is a clear need for emergency housing and increased access to information for all.”

Ms Wallace said it is critical the government adopts policies like delivering food to people unable to leave their homes, collecting gender disaggregated data and gender analysis on the infection and mortality rates and impact of COVID-19 crisis on income and mental health and an expanded free internet access to increase access to online educational platforms.

 

 

Women on the march (The Tribune)

International Women's Day March 2020

Mar. 9, 2020 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas featured in The Tribune on March 9, 2020.

From The Tribune:

Equality Bahamas held its third annual International Women’s Day March and Expo on Saturday. From Eastern Parade to The Dundas on Mackey Street, participants chanted, “What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want ‘em? Now!” and “My body, my choice.” Several drivers responded with horn honks and words of encouragement along the way. The march focused on bodily autonomy and many of the signs were about consent, marital rape, and the right to choose. All participants were given whistles with a disclaimer attached. It advised them that whistles are not magic, they cannot be trusted to prevent rape, and the burden should not be on women to end violence against them.

Participants in the march were greeted by Equality Bahamas volunteers and other supporters. The Tiny Talk Speaker Series began immediately upon arrival and included student Caden Smith who started Bahamas Red Nose while in elementary school, Phillipa Dean from the Dignified Girl Project, Orchid Burnside from Cat Island Conservation Institute, and Denise Major from The Empowerment Group. Throughout the day, there were numerous workshops and activities including yoga sessions by Cosmosis, self defence by Bahamas Judo Federation, backyard farming by Chiccharney Farms, information on the Sustainable Development Goals by the SDG Unit, and rapid HIV testing by the HIV Secretariat.

Following the speaker series, Equality Bahamas announced the launch of its #Strike5ive campaign for the criminalisation of marital rape. It calls for the issue to be taken off the back burner and properly addressed. Director Alicia Wallace said, “There is no need to create a new category of crime. The definition of rape needs to be changed. Delete those five words — ‘who is not his spouse’. It’s not complicated.”

NGOs hit out at ID rule for Dorian relief (Eyewitness News)

Press

Nov. 6, 2019 – Eyewitness News

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in Eyewitness News on November 6, 2019.

From Eyewitness News:

“The demand for documentation makes it even more difficult for people to access necessary resources,” said Wallace, who coordinates hurricane relief efforts by Equality Bahamas and Lend a Hand Bahamas.

“Food, water, hygiene products, and baby items are not ordinarily scarce, but have been challenging, to varying degrees dependent on identity and personal resources, for people directly impacted by Hurricane Dorian to find and attain.

She continued: “Transportation is one of the major issues faced when trying to collect items from distribution centers and attempting to replace lost documents.

“We need to ensure that we – the government, NGOs, private sector actors, and citizens – put the emphasis where it is needed most.”

Carnival is great fun for everyone, say organisers (The Tribune)

Press

May 3, 2019 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas founder and co-director Alicia Wallace featured in The Tribune on May 3, 2019.

From The Tribune:

The BCC’s statement also drew the ire of women’s activist and Equality Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace, who said it is “dangerous” for the organisation to continue to make “reckless, ill-informed statements about sexual violence in its attempt to control women and their bodies.”

[…]

Ms Wallace also critiqued the BCC for its reference to sexual assault.

“It is not only unfortunate, but dangerous that the [BCC] continues to make reckless, ill-informed statements about sexual violence in its attempt to control women and their bodies and use violence against women as a justification for its heavy-handed approach to constraining cultural expression,” she told The Tribune yesterday.

“Rape is completely unrelated to appearance or behaviour and is only caused by perpetrators and those who perpetuate rape culture, including people who victim blame and try to leverage fear of sexual violence to limit women’s access to public space.”

She added this is not the first time the BCC has “contributed to a dangerous environment for women by excusing sexual predators through the incorrect assumption that rape is about sex and men are incapable of controlling themselves.”

Instead of making such statements, Ms Wallace called for religious institutions to provided safe houses and resources for victims and to engage with relevant civil society organisations.

Full ‘STEAM’ ahead for women in the Bahamas (The Tribune)

Press

Jan. 15, 2019 – The Tribune

Equality Bahamas featured in The Tribune on January 15, 2019.

From The Tribune:

Tomorrow’s instalment of Women’s Wednesday at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas will place special focus on women excelling in areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM).

Women’s Wednesday is presented by Equality Bahamas with the aim of removing the gap between women experts, practitioners and service providers.

Joining the panel at the event tomorrow will be D’Andre Wilson-Ihejirika, a Canada-based engineer and co-founder of Bahamas Engineering and Technology Advancement; electronic engineer T’Shera Gaitor; Zemi Stewart, a business analyst and author of mathematics workbooks; Nowé Harris-Smith, a visual artist and junior high school art teacher; Jillian Bethel, an ob/gyn turned blockchain technology entrepreneur, and Janay Pyfrom, founder of FindrPro.

These women will share their experiences and what they have learned along the way, comment on trends and areas in the country in dire need of trained professionals in STEAM. It will take place tomorrow beginning at 6pm.

“Women’s Wednesdays is primarily a response to women’s request for greater and more frequent access to information and resources, from personal financial management and building healthy relationships to self-care and bystander intervention training,” said Alicia Wallace.

“It is also changing the way panels and similar sessions are held by centering the people in attendance and intentionally offering them more time to share ideas, ask questions, generally contribute to the conversation based on their own knowledge and experiences and actively resisting the division between expert and audience,” she told Tribune Woman.

Women’s Wednesdays started in May 2017 following the overwhelming response to Equality Bahamas’ first annual International Women’s Day March & Expo.