‘GET MOVING’: Women’s organization says enough talk on gender-based violence & marital rape, time for action
Mar. 7, 2022 – Eyewitness News
Equality Bahamas one of 30 organizations that signed a joint open letter addressed to the Prime Minister mentioned in Eyewitness News on March 7, 2022.
From Eyewitness News:
In a joint open letter to the prime minister, chief justice, director of public prosecutions and others last week, over 30 women’s organizations demanded delivery on promises to address gender-based violence.
“This is not a favor that we are asking,” Paul said as she urged the government to make decisions with all of its populous in mind.
“This is our right as 51 percent of the populous.
“To me, that’s the underlying thing that deals with all of our areas of concern.
“It continues to be an afterthought or when someone like yourself recognizes or when women organizations recognize they’ve left us out again, and then we have to advocate, and so, first and foremost, that’s the overarching message that needs to be sent and registered.”
The issue of marital rape continues to be publicly debated, with many lawmakers supporting views to criminalize it.
In 2017, United National Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Dubravka Simonovic said The Bahamas is out of step with the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Former of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as the country had failed to criminalize all forms of marital rape.
“It continues to be an afterthought or when someone like yourself recognizes or when women organizations recognize they’ve left us out again, and then we have to advocate, and so, first and foremost, that’s the overarching message that needs to be sent and registered.”