The Tribune

THE accusation that a sitting Member of Parliament raped and assaulted a woman is one that should shock the nation.

That the alleged victim then goes on to claim that police offered her a statement to sign that included a portion saying that she would not take further action – even before police had interviewed the suspect – should be of even greater concern.

In recent years, we have heard much about trying to clamp down on violence against women and girls. There has been talk, but little progress, of passing a bill tackling gender-related violence. There has been the marital rape legislation that seems to stall every time the government sees the shadow of a church.

But if what the woman at the centre of these new allegations says is true, then not only was she the victim of a crime but she was also encouraged by the officers who are meant to be investigating it – the same ones that would be enforcing any laws on gender-related violence – to sign away her ability to pursue any further legal action.

In today’s Tribune, a number of different activists and a sitting Senator speak out over the allegations, each voice ringing loudly with the need for a serious and determined investigation to take place. There are calls for justice to be fair, applying equally to all, be that person high in station or low.

The accused MP has not been named as yet. Unlike his alleged victim, he has not spoken up. He has not yet been charged.

He is, of course, innocent until proven guilty. The concern of many is to ensure that the appropriate due process takes place and is not derailed. The highest in the land should be subject to the same laws as all of us.

And yet, is that always so? At the simplest level, we still do not know, for example, which of our MPs filed their public disclosures on time, as required by law. If we cannot expect our MPs to follow the law in such a straightforward fashion, or for the law to hold them accountable if they do not, is it any wonder we question whether our political leaders will be treated the same as the rest of us when it comes to a more serious investigation?

Justice must be done, and it must be applied fairly. We have heard the allegations. We have heard the suggestions that police gave the reported victim a document to sign away any further action. What we have not heard is if the accused has been interviewed, or what any subsequent steps may be.

People will judge for themselves the fairness of the police investigation so far – and will watch closely for what happens next.

Guest voices

In last week’s Tribune, we gave this space over to a week of guest editorials, with a selection of writers from different groups and backgrounds expressing their views on a range of subjects.

There were editorials from Human Rights Bahamas, Rise Bahamas, ORG – and yesterday one from a senior figure at Disney here in The Bahamas.

We did this because ultimately the pages of this newspaper are your pages – filled with your voices, and we wanted to give some of those voices a platform to speak.

We would love to hear your thoughts on those guest editorials – and we may well return for another guest week in future, offering the chance for other voices to be heard. Your voices.