The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE spouse of the prime minister said the newly established Protection Against Violence Commission could help bring greater scrutiny to marital rape, even though the act is not criminalised in The Bahamas.

Ann Marie Davis made the remarks while speaking with The Tribune on the sidelines of a domestic violence workshop at the Royal Bahamas Police Force headquarters in New Providence.

The commission, which was formally appointed last month, was created under the Protection Against Violence Act to coordinate the country’s response to domestic and gender-based violence.

Asked whether the commission’s work could help address concerns raised by activists about marital rape, Mrs Davis said the issue remains unresolved but deserves greater attention.

“The conversation, I think, isn't finished yet on marital rape, but I do think that it happens, and I would like to see that come under, come into focus under the commission as well,” she said.

Her comments come as marital rape remains outside the criminal definition of rape under Bahamian law, a reality she has previously criticised.

Mrs Davis has said previously she supports criminalising marital rape and believes the government should move forward with legislation to do just that.

In 2022, she said: “We must agitate and hold our policy makers accountable. We want them to upgrade our laws and we really need that. Imagine, we are still living in a society where no does not mean no. How could that be? I tell you no and you think I mean yes. No, sir. Of course I’m talking about marital rape right. No means no.”

Women’s rights activists have long criticised the status quo and have called for legislative changes to recognise rape within marriage as a criminal offence.

In 2022, the Davis administration released a draft Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill proposing to redefine rape by removing the words “who is not his spouse” from the law’s definition.

However, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said in February 2025 that legislation to criminalise marital rape is not expected before the end of the government’s current term.

The Protection Against Violence Commission forms part of the Protection Against Violence Act, passed in 2023. The law established a framework to coordinate national efforts to address domestic and gender-based violence, including improved data collection, victim support and oversight of policy implementation.

The commission is tasked with strengthening protections for women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, and coordinating responses among government agencies and support services.

Mrs Davis said she hopes the commission’s work will encourage greater reporting of abuse within marriages and bring more attention to the circumstances that victims face.

Marital rape is not the only contentious issue on which she has taken a public position. Last year, she drew national attention when she said the killing of seven-month pregnant Lauren Saunders amounted to a “double murder,” even though Bahamian law does not recognise a foetus as a separate victim in homicide cases.

She also said at the time that abortion should be avoided “at all cost” unless a mother’s life is in danger, a stance that came amid the country’s sensitive debate over reproductive rights.