Bahamas

Gender-Based Violence

There is thought to be a higher rate of rape in the Bahamas than anywhere else in the Caribbean, with marital rape still being seen as legal in the eyes of the law (1). The Bahamas has a highly patriarchal culture where the idea of a man hitting his wife is accepted as normal, this could account for the 30% of households that have experienced domestic violence (1). This patriarchal culture can be seen in other parts of society- in parliament. Both male and female MPs have discussed how women should expect to be hit by their husbands if they disobey him (1). Furthermore, Nicholls (2014) found that by the time girls had started secondary school, they had already learnt that as a wife, women should obey their husbands and submit to their rule as head of the household (1). From 2019 to 2020, reports of women suffering from sexual violence increased by over 30% (6).

Gender Equality at Work

On average, there are more women unemployed than men and working women earn less than working men. In 2018, female unemployment was 11.3% compared to 10% for men, and working women earned 33% less than what men earn at work (2). In the same year, 1115 young women had not looked for work because they believed there weren't any good jobs available compared to 875 men (2). However, 51.6% of women are in managerial positions (5).

Health

In 2015 there were 80 maternal deaths per 100,000 healthy births, with 30 births per every 1000 women being aged between 15 and 19 (2). 99% of births were attended by a skilled healthcare attendant, with 85% of the women aged between 15 and 19 were attended at least 4 times by a skilled healthcare attendant (4). In the same year, 46% of new mothers were receiving maternity cash benefit (5).

Gender Equality in Politics

There is little data on women's political representation in the Bahamas. In 2019, women made up 13% of the seats in the lower house (7). In 2021, 12% of parliamentary seats were held by women (5).

Frontline Services:

• Bahamas Crisis Centre - https://www.bahamascrisiscentre.com - bahamascrisiscentre@yahoo.com - bahamascrisiscentre@gmail.com

• S.T.R.A.W. Inc. Centre for Young Women - http://www.strawincbahamas.com - https://www.facebook.com/STRAW-Inc-Center-for-Young-Women-49234557251/ - straw.incbahamas@gmail.com

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Sources:

1. https://journals.sfu.ca/cob/index.php/files/article/view/339/pdf_70

2. https://ewnews.com/un-report-underscores-gender-inequality-and-widened-wage-gap#:~:text=A%20United%20Nation%E2%80%99s%20report%20on%20human%20development%20reveals,189%20countries%20on%20its%20gender%20inequality%20index%20%28GII%29

3. https://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/151313/Sexual_harassment_on_the_job.html

4. https://data.unicef.org/country/BHS/

5. https://data.unwomen.org/country/bahamas

6. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jan/11/tackling-rape-bahamas/#:~:text=Back%20in%202020%2C%20%E2%80%9Creports%20of,Commissioner's%20nationwide%20crime%20statistics%20report

7. https://thenassauguardian.com/increasing-participation-of-women-in-frontline-politics/