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

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.”