Concern Over Rape Rates By BBC Caribbean August 29, 2007 ........................................................................................................................................ High rates of rape in some Caribbean countries have led to the calling of a regionwide conference to tackle the problem. Organisers have cited a United Nations/World Bank report showing that the Caribbean has three of the top 10 recorded rape rates in the world. According to the report, topping the list is the Bahamas, where the number of reported rapes is almost 15 times higher than most countries. The other two Caribbean countries in the top 10 are St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica. The Bahamas Crisis Centre, which is coordinating the conference in September, said it is hoped that delegates will draw up new strategies to dealing with sexual violence generally against women. Director Sandra Dean-Patterson told BBC Caribbean that the centre has been grappling with the problem of sexual violence for a number of years. "At the moment it would appear that twice as many children and young persons are assaulted as adults," she said. "But some of that may be that the adult women may not be reporting it the way it should.". Not enough attention According to the report, a survey by the US Department of Homeland Security found that in Haiti 28% of married women had been beaten by a spouse. The document also cited a 1990 survey, which indicated that in Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados, 30 percent of all women in each country had suffered physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. "Violence against women seems to be endemic in Caribbean countries as it is in most countries around the world," the report concluded. Dr. Dean-Patterson lamented that not enough attention was being paid to the problem and she is hoping that the September 25-29 conference will get the attention of regional governments. "I always think of it as the attempted murder of a woman or a child's soul, and you cannot push that under the rug. "We have to address it as seriously as we address any other crime, and not make it so difficult for victims of sexual violence to get justice," she said. latest news Jamaica Police Investigages Scam British Prime Minister Sorry for Slavery CARICOM Issues Explored Angllicans Face Difficult Summit Trinidadian Carnival Exodus New Caribbean Program Premiers on NY TV Exemption for Antigua Nurses More Complaints About CARICOM Grenada Goofs: Anthem Mixup Windies Selectors to Mull Over CWC Squad More Cricket World Cup Semis Tickets on Sale JA Airport Revamp Won't Be Ready for Cup Celebrating Bob Marley with Food & Fashion CARICOM Single Space Travel Begins Caribbean Tops Prisoner's List AIDS Discrimination in the Caribbean Whaling Showdown Likely Record Year for Global Tourism Five Killed by Jamaican Police Four Dead in Haiti UN Operation   | | | | |