Human Rights

“The principles of equity and the rule of law may be said to be generally robust in The Bahamas, subject to concerns about rising crime rates and certain practical aspects of gender, child and migrant rights. The judiciary is independent and upholds a broad swath of constitutional rights, but the Constitution does not: (a) include provisions against gender discrimination on the grounds of sex; (b) afford Bahamian women married to nonBahamian men the same opportunity as Bahamian men married to non-Bahamian women to secure their spouse’s access to Bahamian citizenship; and (c) allow Bahamian women married to non-Bahamian men the same automatic right to give Bahamian citizenship to a child born outside The Bahamas, a right which the Constitution automatically gives to Bahamian men married to non-Bahamian women.” State of the Nation Report, page 38

Constitutional amendments to address these inequalities have been put forth in referndums twice in recent history but were rejected both times. Ref

“In addition, there are reports of significant incidents of violence against women and abuse of children as detailed in the August 2015 report by the National Task Force for Gender-Based Violence entitled ‘Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence.’ Migrant rights, and particularly alleged discrimination against persons of Haitian descent, are a further volatile issue. Similarly, discrimination against persons with disabilities and the limited environment which allows them to participate fully in society remains a concern.” State of the Nation Report, page 39

LGBTQ+ Rights

The Bahamas is a dangerous places for LGBTQ+ individuals and popular opinion is mixed at best. A combination of religious fearmongering, ignorance, and xenophobia have often led to violent levels of homophobia. Especially on Nassau, ‘gay’ is often used as a slur and adults who display anything but stereotypical normative behaviors are imagined to be homosexual or mentally ill. This is, of course, complete nonsense.

Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012-2017), has been outspoken on the need for comprehensive LGBTQ rights and we salute him for it. We stand with him and all intelligent individuals who recognize that “a violation of human rights anywhere is the business of free people everywhere.” (Ronald Reagan)

Women’s Rights

The first woman elected to Parliament was Janet Bostwick in 1982 for the Free National Movement (FNM). * Women were only given substantive posts in Cabinet after the FNM won the 1992 general election.

We as a people voted to deny women equal rights in the passage of citizenship to their children in two constitutional referenda - 2002 and 2016. It is not a crime in The Bahamas for a husband who is still with his wife to rape her.