A Preliminary Study on Unwanted Sexual Intercourse Within Long-term Relationships in The Bahamas

Abstract

Rape has been a concern in The Bahamas and the law recognizes rape outside of marriage as being a criminal offence. However, the so-called “marital rape exception” means that rape within a marriage is not treated as a crime. This has resulted in several national conversations about changes to the law. This study focuses on established (long-term) relationships and so is distinct to previous studies on rape in The Bahamas. This Internet-based study, which obtained responses from over 1,000 women, attempts to provide a first estimate of the prevalence of rape within long-term relationships. The estimate of at least 15% is in line with other studies from North America. The results also indicate that over 50% of the adult population are in favour of changing the law allowing the marital rape exception; however, the level of support varies by sex and age of the respondent. Male respondents in the 55 or older age group were less inclined than younger men to agree that marital rape can occur. The study provides a preliminary estimate of the number of women who would be potentially protected by a change to the law and indicates that such a change would be in the public interest.