NASSAU, The Bahamas — The strengthening of the family structure will be one of the critical focuses of the Government of The Bahamas moving forward as more than 60 per cent of all childbirths in The Bahamas are out of wedlock, Minister of Social Services and Community Development, Melanie Griffin said.
This is a reversal from the years leading up to the 1960s when 70 per cent of children born in The Bahamas were to married couples.
“This number (60 per cent), I believe, is way too high,” Mrs. Griffin said.
Mrs. Griffin said the absence of the original family structure, and that of the extended family structure, have contributed to much of the anti-social behaviour occurring in the country. She said the increasing number of single-parent homes and children being born to single mothers are among the major challenges impacting the family.
The strengthening of the family structure, Mrs. Griffin said, is a part of a comprehensive national plan to battle the scourge of crime and criminality – particularly violent crimes such as murder within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Social Services Minister said the Government will tackle the challenge through a number of initiatives, including expanding the role of Social Services “to make it a factor in social development.”
“Statistics indicate that up to the 1960s, only 30 per cent of the children were born out of wedlock (which meant that) 70 per cent were born to married couples,” Mrs. Griffin said. “Today, those numbers are reversed (as) more than 60 per cent of all children are now born out of wedlock. I believe this number is too high and we must ask ourselves the questions why is it so? And what do we have to do to reverse it?
Addressing the opening session of a one-day “Save the Family – Issues Confronting Bahamian Families” Workshop at the Emmaus Centre, Fox Hill, Mrs. Griffin said the Government of The Bahamas will further institute a number of programmes aimed at promoting greater family values, through its various ministries, corporations, departments and agencies, thereby strengthening the family.
(The workshop was a collaboration between the Community Affairs Division of the ministry, the Crisis Centre, Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Family Life Ministries and several other faith-based and civic organisations).
“We are in a fight to save our families, our communities and our country from the scourge of anger and violence that beset us so heavily. It is a fight that we cannot and must not lose because we have too much at stake,” Mrs. Griffin said.
“The Bahamian family as we once knew it, (has changed and) continues to change dramatically. As our families have changed, so have our society. Some of those changes have not been good and we must resist them with every fibre of our being while adapting to and accepting and encouraging those changes that build and strengthen the family.”
Mrs. Griffin said the challenges currently facing families come from a myriad of situations involving finances, or a lack thereof, and anger management and violence, among others.
Programmes, Mrs. Griffin said, will be put in place to address these and other issues.
“I know from my previous experience in this position and from my interaction with families in the community that much of what we see today as social problems began as financial problems,” Mrs. Griffin said. “Some of those problems are due to outside forces such as the world economy, but others are caused by poor money management.
“We must, as a people, learn to save, to budget and to live within our means and there is a need for financial education for both parents and children.”
Mrs. Griffin said programmes involving anger management will also be implemented to address issues involving anger and violence.
“Anger and violence in the family are taking a heavy toll on the family and society as a whole,” she said. “It seems that we are no longer able to sit down and discuss problems in a calm, rational way and arrive at a compromise that is in the best interest of all. Rather, we handle issues and problems in an aggressive and abusive manner, which far too often, results in injuries – physically and emotionally – and even death.”
“It is the intention of this Government to do all it can to save our families through the implementation of a number of initiatives and (by) expanding the role of Social services to make it a major factor in social development,” Mrs. Griffin added.
By Matt Maura
Bahamas Information Services
