The Tribune

THE COALITION to End Gender Based Violence and Discrimination yesterday held an awareness event in Rawson Square hoping to get a response from Prime Minister Perry Christie.

The “Protect Women and Girls” event was the second demonstration held by Bahamas Crisis Centre. Last month more than two dozen supporters demonstrated in support of women’s rights in Rawson Square.

They called on the Prime Minister to condemn Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller’s comments about abusing a former girlfriend and to discourage parliamentarians from making similar remarks.

Yesterday, the Coalition gathered to present a proposal to the Prime Minister in an effort to “educate and recondition the mind set of the nation.”

The proposal suggested the following:

• Upgrade the current Family Life Curriculum in high schools to include gender-based violence awareness and anti-harassment module and implement it in the Fall of 2014.

• Support a widely publicised campaign utilising daily newspapers, radio ads, television ads, billboards and street art to:

• Increase public awareness of the pervasive and harmful effects of domestic and gender-based violence;

• Advise the public of penalties for sexual harassment and assault

• Implore victims and bystanders to report all instances of sexual harassment and assault inform the public of resources available to combat gender based violence.

The Coalition also proposed, among other things, mandatory arrests for statutory rape where physical evidence exists; mandatory conviction for failure to report any form of abuse against a minor and an amendment to the current Sexual Harassment Law to address Sexual Harassment outside of the workplace.

The Coalition is made up of Bahamas Against Sexual Violence and Child Abuse, HollaBack! Bahamas, Bahamas Women’s Watch, Bahamas Urban Youth Development Centre and Families of All Murdered Victims.