The Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip “Brave” Davis has maintained his stance that the level of violence against women and girls in the nation remains unacceptable.
The PM made the remark to a crowded Atlantis ballroom during the opening of the 13th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting.
He said “We can’t stop working on this issue until women are safe everywhere – whether they are walking alone at night, in their workplaces and schools, or at home with loved ones”.
According to police, there has been an uptick in the number of reported rapes and sexual assaults of women and girls this year.
It was gathered that the meeting, hosted by The Bahamas, will serve as a “decision-making body for Commonwealth women’s affairs ministers to review progress made towards achieving four Commonwealth priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment”.
Official records have it that the priorities include women in leadership; women’s economic empowerment; ending violence against women and girls; and gender and climate issues.
In his speech, Davis highlighted his government’s efforts to tackle a variety of issues affecting women in The Bahamas, mainly gender-based violence.
He said “My administration has sought to address the social and systemic factors contributing to violence against women and girls through increased funding to construct a new women’s shelter and to provide legal aid for survivors of domestic violence through social services and the Office of the Judiciary”.
“We have also made meaningful progress in protecting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence through the recently passed Protection Against Violence Act, which establishes and protects the rights of victims, allows for the allocation of more resources, and focuses on sensitization and training within the police force and other organizations that work directly with survivors.”
Women’s groups in The Bahamas were critical of the Protection Against Violence Act, noting that it was not the Gender-Based Violence Bill that they worked on “for over a decade”.
According to the concerned PM, it is critical that “we constantly evaluate how different issues affect members of our population differently, and make sure we are designing policies that are effective for all”.
“The time is now for our Commonwealth community to be unabashedly ambitious in our goals and plans. We need more than slogans – we need commitments,” he said.
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