The fact that The Bahamas requires corroboration for allegations of sexual offences – known as the “double witness rule” – suggests an underlying assumption that the women who make these allegations are lying, according to the International Organization for Migration.
That suggestion was made in a recent review of legislation in seven Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas.
The IOM cited a report by Trinidadian lawyer Gaietry Pargass titled “The Incidence of Sexual Offences in the Caribbean,” in which the lawyer says “legal experts have noted that the underlying assumption embodied in the corroboration rule, which does not apply to other criminal offences ﾖ that women fabricate testimony of rape ﾖ continues to pervade this area of law.”
According to the IOM, while corroboration with police intelligence is to be encouraged, the rule “immediately suggests that the word of a victim of sexual violence has lesser value.”
The IOM report also stated that evidence supports the idea that a similar attitude pervades police forces in the region. The report noted that some of the countries are addressing the problem of police reluctance to become involved in domestic disputes and lack of sensitivity when dealing with sexual offence complaints.
“Most of the countries have begun training police officers in dealing with domestic and sexual abuse: for example, all incoming officers in The Bahamas are trained to deal with domestic disputes, and police officers in Suriname have received training on all forms of gender-based violence,” the report said.
Bahamian law enforcement officials recently attended an IOM seminar aimed at training regional law enforcement to better identify and prosecute incidences of human trafficking.
Such participation should not, according to the IOM, be underestimated.
“Police officers are integral to the entire criminal justice process, frequently operating as prosecutors as well as investigators, as in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana and St. Lucia. As such,” the report said, “they have a great deal of influence in the successful prosecution of trafficking cases.”
Among the Bahamian contingent which underwent the recent training were immigration and maritime officials, which again, the IOM report deems important.
“(Maritime and Immigration) officials face a difficult dilemma with respect to conflicting policy: on one hand their primary activities are to interdict potential smuggling groups and narcotics traffickers; on the other, they could play a vital role in identifying victims of trafficking, and their traffickers, at an early stage.”
The IOM says it is clear that there are human traffickers operating in the Caribbean, citing the recent prosecution of two American men for luring Jamaican men into forced labour in New Hampshire.
The organization notes that there are, however, few cases of trafficking reported in the Caribbean itself.
“This is due in part to the lack of specific provisions in the law, but also a lack of recognition as to when the activity is occurring,” the IOM report said.
“Just as sex workers in the Caribbean are often hesitant to approach law enforcement officers, fearful of being deported or arrested for their activities, the police and prosecution are frequently ill-equipped to identify when a person has been forced into labour.”
The organizationﾒs recommendations for reform include the drafting of regional model anti-trafficking legislation, the creation of a regional task force, cooperation in the regional justice system, law and penalty reform, continued training for law enforcement, public prosecution and the judiciary and the implementation of welfare and protection policies for victims.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
