It has not gone unnoticed that senior women in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), who claim to champion the rights of women, have refused to condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent shameful and disgraceful attack by Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller on the Bahamas Crisis Centre.
Minister of Social Services Melanie Griffin released a half-hearted, weak statement in which she was careful not to rebuke Miller. We imagine that was because Leslie Miller, after all, is one of the PLP's own.
Using soft tones, Griffin said she was "dismayed" to read the Tribune article, which quoted Miller. She then went on to talk about all the good work that the Crisis Centre has done over the years. But what was needed was a strong condemnation of Miller's distasteful assault on the Crisis Centre. It was not enough for the minister to simply point to all of the good that, that organization has been doing. What should have come from the minister responsible for Social Services and from other women in the PLP was the adoption of a strong stance once and for all to much of the foolishness Miller has been spewing in the public domain, particularly with regard to women.
Appearing on "Real Talk Live" with Ortland Bodie last week, Miller said: "That Crisis Centre is a bunch of phonies, fakes and frauds. Did you hear a single word from them when that young schoolteacher was slain? Were any of them at the funeral? Matter of fact, only two MPs were there. It seems to me like they are only concerned about women when they are physically hit or beat from their partners. But isn't an act on a woman that ends in death the most serious it can get?
"What concern did they have for her? They were nowhere to be found. All they are is a show. Maybe they don't see the death of a woman as domestic violence, but I do, and they should have been more vocal."
Miller was referring to Queen's College teacher Joyelle McIntosh who was shot dead last month. Apart from being disgraceful, Miller's criticisms of the Crisis Centre were simply misplaced. Those criticisms were way out of bounds, unwarranted, wrongly targeted and in the wrong context.
His attack also demonstrates that he has a real problem with women that he is cloaking.
Miller seems to still be smarting from the public lashing he endured last year after telling Parliament he used to beat an ex-girlfriend and laughing about it. Colleagues around him in Parliament at the time were amused. Griffin's tepid response to Miller's attack on the Crisis Centre, though disappointing, is not surprising.
When we called Griffin last year to ask her to respond to Miller's admission that he was guilty of domestic abuse, the minister had no comment. Again, we imagine that is because it was one of the PLP's own. No one else in Parliament took a stance against Miller, either, as he remembered the abuse he claimed he had administered.
Miller told the House: "When I didn't beat her she used to tell me I ain't love her no more 'cause I don't hit her. But seriously, I had one like that. I had one."
He said he used to hit her until he got tired and his hands started hurting. While Miller and other parliamentary colleagues chuckled, there was nothing funny about his statements in the House. With significant public pressure, Miller apologized. He offered the Crisis Centre $1,000 to assist with its work, but Crisis Centre Director Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson rejected the donation.
She said, "So often when a victim is battered, this explosion is followed by a honeymoon period, which is to shower the victim with gifts, money, jewelry, flowers and other niceties."
When he apologized in the House of Assembly last year, Miller pledged: "I will now champion their (abused women) cause from here on in to ensure that they get the assistance that is needed."
Dean-Patterson said only time will tell whether Miller's convictions are sincere.
"The proof will be in Mr. Miller's commitments, words and actions around this issue to come," she said at the time.
Troubling
Instead of supporting and praising the good work of the Crisis Centre, Miller was back in the news last week insulting its team and accusing the organization of putting on a show. In a clear sign that he has not moved on from the controversy he caused last year, he also raised the issue of the Crisis Centre's refusal to accept his $1,000 last year. His characterization of the people who make up the Crisis Centre's team and the work that they do is most unfortunate, especially coming from a member of Parliament.
Shadow Minister of Labour and Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner said in a statement she was "appalled at the disgraceful comments and verbal abuse directed against the women" at the Crisis Centre by Miller. "The good people of The Bahamas take grave exception to Mr. Miller's remarks," Butler-Turner said. "Sadly, we have come to expect nothing better from him."
Silence is not what is needed at this time. Leslie Miller's attack on the Crisis Centre reflects not only a disturbed mind, but it is a part of a larger, disturbing narrative that relates to the treatment of women. Softly worded statements do not send the right message.
The prime minister, too, should add his voice in condemning Leslie Miller's statements. His apology notwithstanding, we condemn them in the strongest way we know how. The work of the Crisis Centre is too important to allow one MP to seek to denigrate it. Miller's stance on women's issues has been troubling. Last year, he expressed opposition to the proposed amendment to the constitution that would enable Bahamian women who marry foreign men to pass on their citizenship.
"If my sister marries a foreigner, I expect for that foreigner to take her home to his country and support her," Miller said. "What they bringing him here for? Don't come to my country and take a job from one of my Bahamian brothers. You are responsible for your family. If I get married to a foreigner, she is coming here with me. A man is the head of his house. He is supposed to be responsible for his family."
Miller's latest gaffe came as The Bahamas was preparing to commemorate Human Rights Day on December 10. In a statement observing the day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said, "It is not enough to sign human rights instruments, although this is an important first step; we must also act on them. This includes putting in place measures for the empowerment of women."
He said, "Women comprise 50 percent of the world's population, and as I said in my address at the 70th UNGA, there can be no economic and social development without the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls."
Empowerment of women and girls deserves greater focus from our lawmakers, not the kind of ill-considered comments made by the Tall Pines MP. Miller's many gaffes have long been documented. They no longer surprise us, but they are still unacceptable.
We are reminded of a conversation the prime minister had with United States Ambassador to The Bahamas John Rood in 2005, according to a U.S. Embassy cable we first reported on in 2011 through our exclusive reporting on the Bahamas batch obtained through the whistleblower organization Wikileaks.
Christie was quoted as saying, "Some ministers were brought into the Cabinet because of their qualifications; others, like Minister Miller, were included in an effort, at times unsuccessful, to keep an eye on what they're doing."
Christie never denied making the statement, which infers he viewed Miller as troublesome. Miller later said he would never sit in another Cabinet in The Bahamas. He has continued loose and irresponsible talk. His recent statements on the Crisis Centre are embarrassing and unforgiveable, despite his apology, again amid public backlash.
The women in the PLP have also gone silent on the gender equality referendum they supposedly were championing. They did not find their voices in a collective rebuke of their colleague, Leslie Miller. Perhaps this is a good time for them to be reminded that the cause of gender equality is still worthwhile and their efforts and will are essential in pushing this initiative forward.
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