NASSAU, Bahamas, Apr 15, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip Davis has welcomed the establishment of a domestic violence unit within the Royal Bahama Police Force, saying domestic violence is among those issues that you don’t need a report to understand.
“It’s not something that lives in headlines. It lives in our homes, in our communities, in too many quiet corners where people feel afraid, alone, and unsure if anyone will help,” Prime Minister Davis said, adding that the launch of the unit, while not a fix, is a “real step in saying to the people who are hurting, we’re here, and we’re doing something about it”.
One in four women in The Bahamas has suffered physical and/or sexual violence, according to a gender-based violence survey financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) last year.
“The Bahamas Women’s Health and Wellbeing Survey” is the first national prevalence survey on gender-based violence, the IDB said, adding that the survey examined lifetime and recent experiences of intimate and non-intimate partner violence and abuse along multiple dimensions – sexual and non-sexual.
“These statistics underscore the importance of data on women’s health and well-being to inform legislative and policy reforms to create safer communities for both men and women in The Bahamas,” the IDB said.
Prime Minister Davis said that the new unit wasn’t created for statistics or for press releases, but was created for that woman who has packed and unpacked her bag a dozen times, trying to find the right moment to leave.
“It was created for the child who flinches at raised voices, because they’ve learned what comes next. It was created for the neighbour who’s heard the yelling through the wall and wondered whether to knock or stay quiet.
“We are not pretending this unit is the solution to everything. But we are saying that this is a country where your safety matters, your voice matters, and your pain will no longer be ignored.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the unit will be staffed by officers who have received specialist training, not only in handling sensitive cases, but in how to respond with empathy, urgency, and care.
He said they will work hand-in-hand with social workers, shelters, and other partners so that survivors don’t have to repeat their stories over and over, or feel like they’re navigating the system alone.
Prime Minister Davis said that the unit is part of a broader strategy that is linked to legislative reform, to increased support for shelters and safe housing, and to education that helps people prevent violence before it starts.
Davis said that he has spoken to survivors including “women who’ve told me about the years they spent trying to smile through their pain, who stayed, not because they didn’t want to leave, but because they didn’t know if anyone would help them when they did.
“And I’ve heard from officers, good officers, who said they wanted to help but weren’t always sure what steps to take, or whether the support system was in place for them to act.
“So we’re fixing that. Quietly. Carefully. Deliberately. Because we owe it to the people who trusted us …to make sure that never happens again.”
CMC/ah/ir/2025