The Bahamas: Human Rights

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is a constitutional, parliamentary democracy. Prime Minister Perry Christie's Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won control of the government in May 2012 elections that international observers found to be generally free and fair. Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. Security forces occasionally committed human rights abuses. The most serious human rights problems were police abuse, detainee abuse (compounded by problems in processing them), a poorly functioning judicial system leading to delays in trial, and witness intimidation. Other human rights problems included poor detention conditions; corruption; violence and discrimination against women; sexual abuse of children; and discrimination based on ethnic descent, sexual orientation, or HIV status.