NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC—Prime Minister Phillip Davis says violence within the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean is a profound public well being problem.
“This isn’t only a matter of crime and punishment; it’s a disaster that touches each a part of our society, from the protection of our streets to the soundness of our households and even the arrogance of our economic system,” Davis instructed the “Violence Prevention Discussion board 2025”.
He instructed delegates that violence diminishes their collective potential, erodes communities, and casts a protracted shadow over future generations.
“In The Bahamas, we’re painfully conversant in the price of violence. Yearly, a whole lot of kids endure abuse, 583 final 12 months alone, a determine that continues to climb. Gender-based violence stays a blight on our nation, with one in 4 Bahamian ladies experiencing bodily or sexual violence of their lifetimes.”
Prime Minister Davis stated that homicides, suicides, and violent assaults stay stubbornly excessive. Whereas there was some progress, the persistence of those tendencies reminds all stakeholders that a lot work stays.
“This actuality just isn’t distinctive to The Bahamas; our Caribbean neighbors share it. Our area, regrettably, bears one of many highest murder charges on this planet, with charges which might be 4 occasions the worldwide common.”
Davis stated that firearms play an outsized position on this tragedy, accounting for practically 70 p.c of homicides in some nations, and that “these statistics paint a grim image, however we should bear in mind they aren’t simply numbers.
“They signify misplaced lives, shattered households, and the erosion of peace in communities throughout our islands. What makes this disaster significantly pressing is the way in which violence spreads like a illness. It thrives on neglect, festers in inequality, and takes root the place there’s hopelessness.”
Prime Minister Davis stated that research have proven that youngsters uncovered to violence, whether or not at house, in colleges, or their communities, usually tend to repeat these patterns as they get older.
He stated a baby who suffers abuse or witnesses violence of their childhood usually carries these scars into maturity, making a cycle that perpetuates the very situations we search to beat.
“We should additionally acknowledge the structural elements at play. Practically 60 p.c of Bahamian households are fatherless, a actuality that locations monumental strain on single dad and mom and leaves many youngsters with out the steerage and assist they want.”
Prime Minister Davis stated in communities the place alternatives are scarce, the lure of felony exercise and gang tradition turns into a harmful different.
“These should not particular person failures. They’re signs of a system that has not but addressed the underlying causes of violence. As leaders, we should confront these realities with readability and conviction.
“Violence just isn’t inevitable. It’s not ingrained in our tradition or our identification. However it is going to require a elementary shift in approaching the issue.”
He stated viewing violence as a public well being situation permits the authorities to prioritize prevention, deal with the foundation causes, and develop insurance policies grounded in information and proof.
“This attitude additionally requires collaboration throughout each sector of society. Violence is not only a matter for the police or the courts; it impacts our well being programs, our schooling programs, and our financial prospects. It calls for an built-in response, bringing collectively authorities businesses, neighborhood leaders, and worldwide companions to handle its many dimensions.”
Prime Minister Davis stated that for the Bahamas, this implies strengthening social security nets, increasing psychological well being providers, and investing in schooling and job creation to supply options to crime.
He stated it additionally means addressing the tradition of silence that too usually protects perpetrators and isolates victims. We can not afford to disregard this in a nation as small and as intently knit as ours.
“Our Caribbean household, by CARICOM, should additionally transfer with better urgency and unity to sort out this shared problem. Regional collaboration on points like firearms trafficking, youth engagement, and rehabilitation is important if we’re to make significant progress. The duty forward just isn’t straightforward, however it’s vital.”
Prime Minister Davis stated that violence just isn’t an inescapable a part of an individual’s identification, including, “It’s a problem to be confronted, a disaster to be addressed, and a cycle to be damaged.”
He instructed the discussion board a harm little one grows into an grownup carrying the load of unresolved ache, recalling listening to a narrative a couple of boy who grew up in a house the place arguments had been as widespread because the dawn.
“He watched his dad and mom combat, his father’s anger spilling over into his phrases and his fists. The boy tried to cover within the shadows, however the echoes of violence adopted him all over the place. In school, he lashed out at others.
“As a young person, he turned to the streets, searching for an escape. By the point he turned a person, the boy was gone, changed by anger he didn’t know methods to management.
“This story just isn’t distinctive. It performs out in several varieties throughout our nation and our area, creating adults who are sometimes damaged lengthy earlier than they’ve even had an opportunity to construct a life,” Prime Minister Davis stated, insisting that “violence doesn’t start in maturity. It’s seeded in childhood.
“When a baby is harm, bodily, emotionally, or psychologically and left to navigate that ache alone, it doesn’t go away. It festers. And too usually, it grows into cycles of hurt that unfold to others.”
Prime Minister Davis stated when he displays on what it takes to scale back violence within the nation, he thinks concerning the tales of those that have suffered in silence.
He stated these are the lives that demand consideration, and they’re the lives the Safety Towards Violence Invoice, 2023 was created to assist.
Davis stated the Invoice represents a defining step ahead for the nation, establishing a complete framework to guard victims of violence whereas addressing the systemic points that permit violence to persist.
He stated on the core of this laws is the assumption that each individual deserves security, dignity, and the chance to heal. It brings collectively key assets and ensures victims now not navigate their journeys alone.
Prime Minister Davis stated establishing the Safety Towards Violence Fee marks a turning level within the authorities’ remedy of this situation.
“This Fee will coordinate businesses, allocate funding, and supply technical assist to make sure a unified nationwide response to violence. It’s going to join healthcare suppliers, regulation enforcement, and neighborhood organizations to ship well timed and efficient help. That is how we flip fragmented efforts right into a cohesive technique, creating a security web that no sufferer slips by.”
He stated the Invoice additionally units a transparent instance of the nation’s dedication to assembly worldwide obligations.
“By aligning with frameworks just like the Conference on the Elimination of All Types of Discrimination Towards Ladies (CEDAW) and the Conference of Belem do Para, we exhibit management in combating violence. These requirements information us in implementing insurance policies that shield victims and maintain perpetrators accountable.
“The laws additionally gives victims entry to important providers reminiscent of secure housing, psychological assist, authorized support, and medical care. These helps should not nearly survival—they’re about restoration and empowerment,” Prime Minister Davis instructed the discussion board.
