The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis has demanded that the government explain what is driving a 125 percent surge in domestic-related reports and publish a national strategy to tackle domestic and sexual violence.

Royal Bahamas Police Force statistics show domestic-related reports rose from 367 during the first six months of 2025 to 825 during the same period this year.

“These cannot become numbers we simply report every six months,” Mrs Barnett-Ellis said in a statement.

While acknowledging that greater willingness among victims to come forward, improved record-keeping or changes in how incidents are classified could partly explain the increase, Mrs Barnett-Ellis said the scale of the rise required a government response.

“An increase of this magnitude cannot simply be noted and filed away,” she said. “The government must tell the Bahamian people what is driving these numbers and, more importantly, what it intends to do about them.”

Sexual offences also increased during the first half of the year, with police recording 98 cases, up 13 percent from 87 during the same period in 2025.

Rape reports rose 12 percent, from 25 to 28, while unlawful sexual intercourse increased 19 percent, from 57 cases to 68. Attempted rape reports fell from five to two, a 60 percent decline.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis also highlighted police findings that the alleged assailant was known to the victim in 96 percent of reported unlawful sexual intercourse cases and that more than half of those incidents occurred at a residence.

“This reminds us that sexual violence is very often not about a stranger lurking in the darkness,” she said. “The danger can come from someone known and trusted by the victim.”

Mrs Barnett-Ellis said the response could therefore not be limited to policing after an offence and must include prevention, early intervention, protection and support.

She called for the government to assess what is driving the surge in domestic-related reports and publish its strategy for reducing domestic and sexual violence.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis also called for greater funding for shelters, counselling, legal assistance and other services intended to allow victims and their children to leave dangerous situations safely.

She urged greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention, including age-appropriate education about consent, healthy relationships, recognising abuse and how children and young people can safely seek help.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis also called for a review of how domestic and sexual violence cases move through the justice system, from the initial police report through investigation, prosecution and the courts, to identify delays and gaps that could leave victims vulnerable.

She said authorities should regularly publish more detailed statistics showing not only how many incidents are reported, but how many are investigated, prosecuted and ultimately determined by the courts.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis also called for continued efforts to challenge attitudes that place responsibility on victims, including questions about what a woman was wearing, where she was, whether she had been drinking or why she did not leave an abusive situation sooner.

“Eight hundred and twenty-five domestic-related reports in six months should cause all of us to ask what is happening in our homes and communities and what we are going to do differently,” she said.

“The statistics are the warning. Our response must now match the urgency of that warning.”