EQUALITY Bahamas has announced the launch of its Strike5ive campaign to criminalise marital rape in the strongest, most explicit way.

According to a press release from the group, it calls on the government to criminalise marital rape by removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of rape in Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act, repealing Section 15 on sexual assault by a spouse, adding a statutory definition of consent to the Act, and including of a clause on non-immunity on the basis of a marital relationship.

There must be no temporal limitation and no requirement of the attorney general’s consent or any other barriers to reporting, the group said.

“Rape remains one of the most under reported crimes around the world. Criminalisation of marital rape and an improved reporting process will ensure that all women, regardless of their marital status, are protected by the law, able to report, and have access to justice,” said Lauren Glinton, Global 16 Days campaign coordinator at Equality Bahamas.

Equality Bahamas continues to call on the government to take action to come into compliance with international mechanisms — including Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Belém do Pará which states that violence against women includes violence “that occurs within the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal relationship[...] including, among others, rape, battery and sexual abuse.”

During her visit to The Bahamas in December 2017, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women said, “Violence against women, including marital rape, is deeply rooted in persistant gender stereotypes and patriarchy, as well as sex-based discrimination against women.”

Human rights expert Gaynel Curry said, “The criminalisation of all forms of rape will interrupt the continuum of violence that persistent across the country and shines a spotlight on that which remains hidden, denied and accepted as normal.”

In 2018, the CEDAW Committee recommended the express criminalisation of marital rape and removal of temporal limitations on reporting. At the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of The Bahamas, the issue of marital rape was raised under four themes — advancement of women, constitutional and legislative framework, discrimination against women, and violence against women — and the recommendation to criminalise marital rape was supported by the government. Equality Bahamas has demanded government action on this issue and demonstrated commitment to ending gender-based violence against women now.

Rape is rape, in all cases, and we will not accept any other categorisations of this violent act, nor will we allow any exclusions on the basis of relationship or limitations on women’s ability to report or access to justice,” said Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas. “Our goal is not to check a box, but to expand rights and strengthen the protection of women through the law, recognizing it as a critical factor in shifting culture and changing behaviour.”

Strike5ive campaign resources can be accessed at tiny.cc/strike5ive and updates are available on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, @equality242.

Equality Bahamas is a feminist organisation that promotes women’s and LGBTQI+ people’s rights as human rights through advocacy, public education, and community engagement.