By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
FAMILY of All Murdered Victims (FOAM) has severed ties with the head of its Grand Bahama division after she publicly defended a man allegedly at the centre of a rape investigation that intensified after disturbing voice notes describing a sexual encounter with an apparently incapacitated woman went viral.
Police confirmed yesterday that the recordings are under investigation and that a person is in custody assisting with the probe.
The case concerns an 18-year-old woman who told police she was sexually assaulted after losing consciousness while travelling with a male driver and two other passengers shortly after 4am on Friday.
Police said the driver dropped off the other two passengers and that the woman lost consciousness at one of the stops. She told investigators she regained consciousness sometime after 6am and was told by the driver that she was home.
After leaving the vehicle, police said, she realised she had been sexually assaulted and reported the matter.
The investigation attracted widespread attention after a recording circulated online in which a man appeared to describe the encounter in graphic terms in a Facebook Messenger voice note sent to a female friend.
In the recording, the man said he had gone riding with the woman and noticed that she appeared to have blacked out. He said he drove her to Montagu Beach, where she asked to be taken home, before later driving her to a school parking lot off Bernard Road.
He then described the alleged sexual encounter.
The controversy widened after Wendy Fox, who headed FOAM’s Grand Bahama division, went online defending the man.
FOAM initially acknowledged the allegations and said it would leave the matter to police, but later announced that it was cutting ties with Ms Fox with immediate effect.
The organisation said she was no longer authorised to conduct business, organise activities or collect donations on its behalf.
Ms Fox responded to the decision and criticism of her defence of the man in several Facebook posts, some of which have since been deleted.
The case has prompted renewed public debate over rape, consent and the treatment of intoxicated or unconscious women, with advocates and politicians warning against attitudes they say contribute to sexual violence.
Women United president Lisa Bostwick-Dean described the allegations as deeply troubling and said the case should force a wider discussion about consent.
“We believe that when a person is so intoxicated or under the influence of any substance that they pass out,” Mrs Bostwick-Dean said, “that they cannot legally consent.”
“In these circumstances,” she said, “it is incumbent upon the other party not to proceed with sexual intercourse.”
Mrs Bostwick-Dean said the case should serve as a broader lesson regardless of its eventual outcome.
“We need to move away from being a rape culture and a ‘slip goes’ culture,” she said, “to one in which we respect individuals.”
Rape crisis and certified child sexual abuse prevention advocate Cindy Godet said the voice notes were triggering for her as a survivor and said her heart went out to the young woman.
She argued that the incident reflected what she believes is a worsening rape culture in The Bahamas, pointing to crime statistics and reported rape cases.
Ms Godet called for greater public education and more willingness to challenge people who protect alleged sexual predators.
“We are not just overrun by sexual predators,” she said. “We are overrun by people who protect them and they are just fueling this culture that just keeps on getting bigger and bigger and worse and worse.”
She also urged more men to speak publicly against sexual violence and to hold perpetrators accountable.
The controversy also drew responses from politicians.
Culture Minister Leslia Miller-Brice said sexual violence could not be normalised or met with silence.
“We cannot normalise sexual violence,” Mrs Miller-Brice said. “We cannot be silent. I am outraged. I am heartbroken and I stand with all those who have suffered.”
Killarney MP Michela Barnett-Ellis also condemned the recordings, saying sexual violence should never be treated as a joke, conquest or source of bragging rights.
Mrs Barnett-Ellis said women should not be taken advantage of while intoxicated and urged friends to protect one another.
“If the recordings are authentic,” she said, “every lawful step must be taken to investigate urgently, preserve the evidence and where the evidence supports it, bring the alleged perpetrator to justice.”
Senator Keno Wong called on more men to speak out against sexual violence.
“We must stand with survivors, protect our young people, teach our sons respect and accountability,” Mr Wong said, “and make it clear that sexual assault will never tolerated.”
Commenting has been disabled for this item.