The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander said yesterday that a domestic violence office, housed separate and apart from the Royal Bahamas Police, should be established before the end of the year.

The commissioner’s comments come after recent concerns regarding a United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report, which highlighted the prevalence of violence against women and children in the Caribbean from 2015 to 2021.

“That’s something I don’t support when it comes to dealing with the females and ladies. As I indicated when I took office, the domestic violence office will be housed separate, apart and standalone. And we are doing just that between now and before the year’s end,” Commissioner Fernander said yesterday.

“I am talking with all of the stakeholders on board from social services and the private sector. The key persons will be on board to protect the females,” he said.

On August 29, Assistant Commissioner of Police Dellareece Ferguson, who is also head of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) Domestic Violence Unit, released data on the nation’s sex crimes during a consultation meeting on the draft CARICOM Regional Gender Equality Strategy (CRGES) at Superclubs Breezes.

Between January 1 and August 23, there were 51 reported rape incidents, up three from the 48 incidents that were recorded for the entire year of 2021.

Police said they had also recorded 69 cases of indecent assault, 10 reported incidents of incest and more than 60 cases of unlawful sexual intercourse during the reported timeframe.

Due to these figures, ACP Ferguson said at the time that the key priorities of the Domestic Violence Unit include training officers on how to effectively respond to gender based or domestic violence situations, and collaboration with various government agencies to raise awareness on social issues among other things.

“Some of the key indicators for us, will be greater awareness of gender based violence and domestic violence among our officers, greater awareness of human smuggling and trafficking in persons, increase in the numbers of persons charged with gender based violence and domestic violence, but reduction in exploitative incidents, and number five effective, efficient and effective investigations geared towards gender based violence and domestic violence.”

Domestic abuse and violence have been a serious problem in the country over the years, prompting numerous calls for more to be done to protect victims of gender-based violence.

The Davis administration has already said it is working on proposed legislation that addresses gender-based matters, with drafts to Parliament said to be forthcoming.