HUMAN Rights Bahamas has called on the government to immediately remove male officers from the Department of Immigration's ''safe house" and to investigate sexual assault allegations against detainees there.

Their demand comes after a Surinamese woman sued the government over claims that a male officer drugged and sexually assaulted her.

In a statement yesterday, Rights Bahamas alleged there was a pattern of predatory behaviour in holding facilities.

“A picture is emerging, not of one or two isolated incidents, but rather an organised, practised and premeditated scheme of drugging and raping detainees, perpetrated by a small group of officers,” the group claimed.

“Information from former detainees also reveals a highly toxic wider culture of drunkenness and predatory behaviour among the male officers generally, who regularly sexually harass and intimidate female detainees, watch them while they are showering, and violate their right to privacy, safety and dignity in countless other ways. Meanwhile, the female officers look the other way,” the group claimed.

“We expect further lawsuits to be filed in due course and have full confidence (in) the Bahamas judiciary to ensure the justice is done in each case.”

The Surinamese woman said her alleged rapist told other officers what he did and she was denied access to her lawyers while immigration officials investigated her claims.

The woman claimed the officer repeatedly filled her a cup containing what he said was a mixture of gin, wine and cranberry juice until she became nauseated, weak and drowsy. He then allegedly started kissing and having sexual intercourse with her.

Rights Bahamas said: “We remind the government that the immigration safe house was created by order of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), precisely because the commission deemed there to be no safe place for women and children in the immigration department’s custody at the time.

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