Rape is apparently on the rise in New Providence and more must be done to punish those who commit these vicious acts, including use of the Cat O Nine Tails, Cabinet Minister Allyson Maynard-Gibson said over the weekend.
Minister Gibson, the Minister of Financial Services and Investments, was addressing the Crisis Centre Banquet at the Wyndham Nassau Resort Saturday night.
Minister Gibson’s support of this form of punishment for rape comes after a statement made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt, who also supports the reintroduction of the Cat O Nine Tails.
Minister Pratt said there were 41 rapes in the month of September.
Minister Gibson said, “We must refocus on crime if we are to heal our nation and strengthen our economy. Every Bahamian voice, not just the voice of the government, must be clear that crime does not pay and that justice will be swift and sure.”
The Crisis Centre, which has been advocating for many years for the law to be amended so that Victim’s Impact Statements could be admitted into evidence prior to sentencing of offenders, has support in Parliament for such a change, Minister Gibson said.
Victim’s Impact Statements enable the court to hear the impact of the offence of the life of the victim from the mouth of the victim and the victim’s family, friends and professionals such as physicians and psychologists and psychiatrists, she said.
Minister Gibson added that jurisdictions that allow Victims Impact Statements acknowledge that the victim is a survivor of the violent offence and that the survivor’s own statement about the impact on the survivor’s life has far more impact out of the mouth of the survivor and persons close to the survivor and aids the healing process of the survivor.
“It is most unchristian the way victims are treated,” Minister Gibson said. “As we expect to be seen as serious about the rights of law-abiding citizens, admitting these statements into evidence would go a very long way in acknowledging these rights.”
She urged Crisis Centre supporters to continue their advocacy for the law to be changed.
“The Prime Minister has asked that I emphasize his personal commitment to making our society more aware of the varied physical, psychological and spiritual attacks on the Bahamian family, the foundation of our society and of his determination that all of us pool our efforts and resources so that we may restore the dignity of the family and the safety and sanctity of our homes,” she said.
The Bahama Journal
