Sandra Dean-Patterson of the Bahamas Crisis Centre is commenting on the rise in reported sexual assaults against teen girls in the country.

Dean-Patterson said, “its important for victims, persons who are experiencing this to know that they haven’t done anything wrong that they’ve had wrong done to them they shame is not with them. You know we tend to find ways to blame persons for behaviour when the blame is not with the victim, the blame is with the perpetrator. We have a number of men who seem to see themselves as having a right to rape, attack, assault whoever comes in their way or presents themselves in a vulnerable situation.”

The Crisis Centre founder also shared some startling statistics stating, “when we did the work for the gender based violence task force we identified the numbers. And in a period from 2000 to 2013 there were over six thousand reports of sexual violence. Whether is was rape, attempted rape, sex with children under sixteen, incest, indecent assault, there were six thousand of those reports. When we went to the prison there were one hundred and twenty sex offenders in the prison. SO the reality is the perpetrators rape with impunity, without consequences and until we have a country that makes perpetrators know that this is a country that doesn’t tolerate it and that if you do it there will be consequences then it will continue.”

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