FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard.
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard says he believes the public has been “disappointed” by government’s response to the issue of marital rape.
Speaking on the sidelines of a good governance symposium on Friday, Mr Pintard restated his position that a woman reserves the right to make a decision on who “she shares her body with and under what circumstances”.
He said: “If a woman, single or married, believes that her life is at risk, she reserves the right, even with her husband, to indicate that she’s not prepared to be intimate and, of course, any legislation you put in place has to balance against a woman being violated at the same time the odd few who might utilizes such legislation to gain retribution against somebody she believes is gaining an advantage whether (it’s) in divorce proceedings or custody hearings, etc. So ,there has to be balance.
“It is amazing to me that this matter is not being given some degree of priority because of gender violence in general. Not just sexual violence, financial violence where a woman, because she is in a financially vulnerable position, is minded to stay in a toxic and potentially deadly environment in order to survive or to feed her children. So, I think this really is not a women’s issue. This is really a human issue and we should get on with the issue of dealing with it.”
FNM senator Michela Barnett-Ellis said on Wednesday night that government was sending too many “confusing” messages on the issue of marital rape. She went on to urge the Davis administration to “do the right thing” and criminalise the act.
The prime minister told reporters earlier this week that “rape is rape” and it was possible that the issue of marital rape could be dealt with legislatively by his administration during this term in office
Asked if he was disappointed that government was not being direct on the matter, Mr Pintard said he thinks the public is disappointed.
“I think the public has very significant concerns that this and other matters policy makers have kicked down the road and each of these issues that are raised that are pretty clear and straightforward. We ought to deal with it and move on to the next issue. Bahamian people are frustrated. They’ve been frustrated with all sides because we take an inordinate amount of time to address straight forward matters,” he said.
Comments
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
The psychological damage upon married men has already been done maybe. We need to watch what age group is being silently added to buying rubbers. Whether married men have now opening up to keeping singled company. The standard of living within married homes begins to drop. Sweet girl standard if living suddenly gets more secure. Men too frightened out of their pants of their wives. Wives notice a change in husbands desire for them. An uptick in marriage pressures. Men distancing themselves from political parties that promote undefined husband rape. Probable increase in STDs. Husbands stigma as being branded as rapist for objecting to husband rape decree. No concensus or data from married women. The data to prove that marriage rape is a national priority over sex before marriage. Women always cry that if their husbands stopped demanding their bodies they must be getting it somewhere else. Well, it will show as rules and changes to a woman's bed is being dictated by high level hysteria media screaming that does not ask for relavent home under the sheets or spontaneous frolicking data. Signing a consent form each time detailing date and time is the safest way. The Europeans found it cumbersome to write down each detail and whether progression proceeded after females said no which should then constitute the crime of marriage rape. No data just blah blah blah blah because at least someone is listening, you are getting attention. Show us what the consent form looks like that wives or husbands have to produce.
Flowing 2 years, 10 months ago
This sounds like fiction, not fact. When it comes to social issues, we need to enlist social scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists. Social issues should not be left to the imagination, politicians, and the Christian leaders.
TalRussell 2 years, 10 months ago
A head-lice scratcher, why should any party's new leader of sound political mind, rush to ease up on best left sleep pedal of de most "no win" of controversial topics in years following UK Colony's, quasi Independence from English, ― Yes?
John 2 years, 9 months ago
Beware this marital rape agenda is being advanced by a small group of mostly shaved and/or bleached haired women with hyphenated names. This law will affect less than 2 percent of married women and less than 2% married spouses. So they want to take a marital issue and criminalize it. Rather then just dissolving the marriage, they seek to send the spouse to jail. Ok so introduce marital rape but also make a crime for spouses to refuse to submit over a given period of time. And also make it punishable by jail time.
Bahamianbychoice 2 years, 9 months ago
Isn't this very same MP that advised Bahamian women they should not marry foreigners...please whatever....this is the biggest mistake by the FNM...this man right here. He did not even move the needle to help Bahamians feed themselves when he had the chance, in fact made the situation worse. Now look were we are...
At the end of the day you are either pro women or you are not. He had the chance to weigh in on this issue and did not. Only reason he is even talking about this is because the PLP have decided to try and address.
carltonr61 2 years, 9 months ago
98% of married women are bedtime failures. They want laws that allow them to remain so and defend their selfish lack of sexual interests. So just legitimize THEIR hyper sexual inadequacies. Then men can just shut up. Bahamian wives once made comfortable lives a fantasy of degrading husbands need for physical attention. They dream of single women free lifestyle while single women long for the comforts of security. The streets go hard quick for former married women when jealously they find out what has single women living so lavishly.
carltonr61 2 years, 9 months ago
Men from our armed forces are the most silently brutalized by their wives. Many preferences to face death on the streets battling criminals than go home to abject silence with acute non responsivness from them. Then the public is returned the hostility for their home bedroom torture. As more men are made to seek intimate survival elsewhere in home children go astray and out home finances is born. Historically men are blamed for sweethearts but only after first being kicked from under the home sheets.
carltonr61 2 years, 9 months ago
The BCC makes most of thides of females. They would not dare address women bed time a lacking and the Holy Sacrement of maintaining under the bed sheets for marriage harmony. 😴
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