The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A YEAR after legislators passed the Protection Against Violence bill, little is known about the government’s efforts to enforce its provisions and establish the commission responsible for supporting victims.

Government officials, including Social Services Minister Myles Laroda, have not responded to The Tribune’s requests for a status update over the past two weeks.

The Davis administration had touted the law and said its passage showed its commitment to addressing violence, particularly against women. The administration defended and promoted the law even after some women advocates said it did not go far enough.

The Protection Against Violence Commission would support victims and liaise with police officers when victims feel they lack full cooperation. The body would also recommend a national strategic plan to combat and respond to violence. It would also liaise with the minister to ensure sufficient shelters are available to victims throughout the country.

Yesterday, Free National Movement Senator Maxine Seymour, the shadow minister of social services, said the administration is not urgently enacting the law.

“There is a gap between the passing of the bill and its implementation — like an implementation gap - and that is a serious challenge," she said.

"If protection against violence for women or men was a top priority for the electorate, the government wouldn’t be able to ignore it so easily. We’ve been waiting for a shelter for three years. They promised a shelter, and it’s still not done. They keep delaying and using tactics to stall.”

Ms Seymour believes the government might expedite implementing the bill before the next general election but said improvements should not be made only in anticipation of elections.

“Every day that the shelter isn’t built or the commission isn’t formed, more people are exposed to violence,” she said. “There’s no point in passing a bill if we’re not going to fully implement it.”

Alicia Wallace, director of the non-profit organisation Equality Bahamas, also said little information is available about the law’s implementation.

“The establishment of the Protection Against Violence Commission is

critical to the Act’s implementation,” she noted. “Yet there has been no visible progress. The Department of Gender and Family Affairs is failing to fulfil its mandate and maintain contact with NGOs involved in gender and women’s rights work.”

Ms Wallace said Equality Bahamas has been seeking a meeting with Mr Laroda for nearly a year. She said the Department of Gender and Family Affairs has intermittently acknowledged emails and claimed to be working on scheduling a meeting but has never confirmed one.

“It seems the minister and the department are out of their depth yet resistant to the technical support available to them,” she said.