On Monday, April 7, Coalition to End Gender-based Violence & Discrimination send a proposal to The Government of The Bahamas to address the issues of domestic violence and gender-based violence in The Bahamas.
The Coalition requested the following:
• A series of meetings with law enforcement officials throughout The Bahamas to plan action on the ground which may or may not include:
– Gun amnesty for a set period (as in Oct 2011)
– Defense force marine deployment to assist with the crime fight (as in Sept 2013)
• Quarterly meetings attended by the Prime Minister, Minister of National Security, Minister of Social Services, senior public officials and the Coalition to End Gender-based Violence & Discrimination
In an effort to educate and re-condition the mindset of the nation, we propose the following initiatives:
• Upgrade the current Family Life Curriculum in high schools to include gender-based
• Support a widely publicised campaign utilising daily newspapers, radio ads, violence awareness and anti-harassment module and implement in Fall 2014 television ads, billboards and street art to:
– Increase public awareness of the pervasive and harmful effects of domestic and gender-based violence
– Advise the public of penalties for sexual harassment and assault
– Implore victims and bystanders to report all instances of sexual harassment and assault
– Inform the public of resources available to combat gender based violence.
We also support the proposal for the establishment of a separate court for Sexual Offenses and the following stipulations:
• Closed court for victims to give evidence.
• Treatment for juvenile sex offenders.
• Supervision orders for discharged sex offenders.
We also propose the exploration of:
• Mandatory arrests for statutory rape where physical evidence exists
• Mandatory conviction for failure to report any form of abuse against a minor
• Amendment of the current Sexual Harassment Law to address Sexual Harassment outside of the workplace.