PM: Why Are We Describing Rape?

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The prime minister’s candid comments on marital rape come days after Bahamas Crisis Center Director Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson lamented the lack of movement on legislation to criminalize marital rape in The Bahamas.

Marital rape has been a hot-button topic for years with successive governments pledging to address the issue.

In 2022, the government drafted a bill that would criminalize marital rape and released it for consultation. Then Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe said the bill would likely need a few months’ consultation and projected it would be tabled in Parliament by the end of 2023, but parliament prorogued.

However, in August the government did pass a Protection Against Violence Bill which the prime minister feels protects against violence.

Last May, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said outlawing marital rape was the number one human rights issue countries raised with The Bahamas when the united nations human rights commission reviewed its record in April.

At the time, he said the issue would be reviewed by the newly established Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.

On Friday, Davis said rape doesn’t need to be categorized.