Nassau, Bahamas - The
recently launched Task Force appointed by the Government, through the Ministry
of Social Services and Community Development,
to address ending Gender Based Violence in The Bahamas, got down to business in
its first bi-weekly meeting on Wednesday, August 14, 2013.
The
Task Force, which comprises a wide cross section of the Bahamian community was
presented with three discussion topics by the chairperson, Mrs Rubie Nottage;
co-deputy chairperson, Dr. Robin Roberts and Superintendent of Police Elaine
Sands, officer in charge of the Eastern Division. Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson is
also a co-deputy chairperson.
Chairperson
Nottage opened by stating the Vision and Mission of the Task Force as follows:
Vision:
“
A Bahamas Free From Gender-Based Violence”
Mission:
“
To Eradicate
Gender-based Violence in The Bahamas”.
Chairperson Nottage then asked the Task Force to address the
question of “
Where are we now?” by
engaging in an environmental scan of the practices, policies and protocols, if
any, which presently exist with respect to Gender Based Violence (GBV). She then went on to
describe GBV as “
a legal harm” as she
drew attention to what GBV actually is in its various forms of physical
assault, domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, and human
trafficking. She then gave a general
legal definition of GBV, the impetus for law reform and international human
rights developments in this regard globally.
She
spoke of pertinent questions to ask of the legislation, questions which need
answers. Chairperson Nottage expressed the need for a societal solution to
eradicate GBV.
She
said regimes must be established to Prevent, Protect, Prosecute, Punish and
Provide redress, wherever GBV is found.
Dr.
Roberts referred to GBV as a Public Health Disorder. He presented statistics on
the number of persons who annually visit the Princess Margaret Hospital as
victims of physical assault, including GBV, highlighting the high incidence of
violence in the community and its impact on our financial and material
resources. He noted that everyday there is at least one person who presents at
the Accident and Emergency Department of the PMH who has been either a victim
of a gunshot or a stab wound injury.
He
quoted data from the Health Information and Research Unit of the Ministry of
Health that trauma, serious bodily harm, is the second leading cause of death
in young people in The Bahamas.
Dr
Roberts said GBV affects children adversely at every phase of their
development. Even during their unborn state, ‘in utero’, GBV places children at
risk when their mother is assaulted during pregnancy.
The
impact on boys cannot be over emphasized; research studies show repeatedly that
boys, who witness their fathers beating and mistreating their mothers, are
prone to do likewise.
GBV
is indeed a major health burden, affecting the entire family and community and
must be studied as an issue of great concern to all and must be eradicated from
our society.
According
to Superintendent Sands, GBV is prevalent in practically every district in The
Bahamas and gave some numbers of reported allegations of unlawful sexual
intercourse and attacks on females. She spoke of the heavy cost to victims and
society caused by physical, mental, emotional and financial abuse.
The
Task Force expects to present a written mid-term report by December 2013 with
the completion of its formal and complete report on GBV set tentatively for the
middle of the year, 2014. The Committee will meet next on August 29, 2013.
Committee appointed to address gender-based violence in The Bahamas
