Attorney: Guidelines Needed To Define Marital Rape

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Attorney Lillith Smith-Mackey is adding to the controversial conversation of marital rape, saying proper lines must be defined to first address the issue.

She gave this example of what could be seen as a gray area in the discussion.

“You will have instances where you are married, you’re going into a divorce but there may be a brief moment of reconciliation, and in that brief moment of reconciliation you may have a party who may want to have intercourse with their spouse and then that leaves room for confusion”, Smith-Mackey said.

Former Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett said The Bahamas has fallen behind on marital rape laws, adding he doesn’t understand the objection to criminalizing it.

In April 2024, Prime Minister Philip Davis said he is guided by the party’s blueprint for change, and a commitment to criminalize marital rape was not in it.

In 2022, the davis administration drafted a bill that could criminalize marital rape and released it for consultation.

The strongest opposition to this though comes from the church, which in most instances, insists a married man can’t rape his wife. Smith-Mackey adds there are religious barriers that impact the conversation.