The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune. 

The revelation by The Bahamas Crisis Centre that 180 children, aged between two and 17, were referred for sexual assault over the past eleven months should shake this nation to its very core. These are not faceless statistics; they are our children. Each case represents a young life scarred, a childhood stolen, and a family left carrying wounds that will not easily heal.

Equally disturbing is that once these matters enter the justice system, children and their families are forced to wait three to five years for resolution. For a child, that is not only intolerable, it is cruel. No survivor of sexual violence should have to endure years of retraumatisation while their case sits on hold in the courts. Justice delayed is justice denied, and in these cases, it is children who pay the price.

We cannot afford to delay or make excuses. The justice system must be reformed to become truly child-centred, beginning with standardised videotaped testimony so victims are spared the torment of retelling their ordeal again and again in intimidating courtrooms. Real protections must also be put in place for whistleblowers and family witnesses, whose silence too often comes from fear or shame. Above all, child sexual abuse cases must be fast-tracked, because nothing is more urgent than safeguarding the innocent.

Perpetrators must be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law so they are not back on our streets to offend again. Protecting the identity of victims is essential, but that protection must never become a shield for predators. Too often, withholding names in the name of privacy has the unintended effect of protecting offenders while communities remain unaware and at risk. Our priority must be the safety of children, not the comfort of those who prey upon them. Regrettably, in many cases, the offenders are relatives, church and community leaders, family friends, and other trusted adults, the very people who should be protecting children.

This crisis demands courage. It requires decisive action. Most of all, it calls for a nation that refuses to look away from the predators in our midst. The true measure of any society is how it safeguards its most vulnerable. Right now, The Bahamas is failing that test.

I therefore call on the government to table meaningful reforms in the very next sitting of Parliament. We cannot continue to push this issue to the back burner while our children remain unprotected. The time for reports, promises, and delays is over. What is required now is legislation, enforcement, and leadership equal to the scale of this crisis.

Our children cannot wait another year, another month, or another day. They deserve protection. They deserve justice, and they deserve leaders who will not turn their backs on them.

Let me repeat myself, no matter how complicated the world gets, children should have safe neighbourhoods where they can grow up unharmed, secure and healthy, and develop to the maximum extent of their potential in a Bahamas for all Bahamians.

Senator Maxine Seymour

Shadow Minister for Social Services, Information & Broadcasting

September 22, 2025.