Daylight rape near popular beach – scene of 13 reported rapes in past year – tourists not alerted – police did nothing
Police “callous, incompetent, totally inept”
“Barbados authorities are more concerned about protecting the lucrative tourist industry than they are about seeking justice.”
Police “try to brush the rapes under the carpet so as not to damage the overseas tourist market”
Questions about the role of racism in the attacks and lack of police response
British tourist and serial rape victim Diane Davies is going public in a major news story about how she was raped in broad daylight near the “Platinum Coast” Sandy Lane Hotel. On Monday, October 25, 2010 the 62 year old grandmother was beaten and raped at the same spot where another tourist had been raped just two days earlier and where 13 women had been raped in the previous year.
The Barbados Police never alerted citizens and tourists about the serial rapist in the area, nor did they make serious efforts to arrest the serial rapist.
Perhaps Police Commissioner Dottin can explain why he didn’t care enough to order a stake-out of the serial rapist’s chosen spot, or alert women in the area that they were at a high risk of rape?
Instead, and as usual, the Barbados Police played their role in what has become an all-too-familiar story of covering up crime against tourists.
Our government, police and tourism authorities just don’t get it: The way to protect our lucrative tourism industry is to protect the tourists – and when something does happen, to immediately respond with professionalism, massive resources and genuine care and compassion for the victim.
Millions of prospective tourists around the world are now reading…
“The truth is that if a woman is raped in Barbados, she is unlikely to get the support she needs. There are almost no procedures in place and the police are way behind in how they tackle crime.”
British tourist and serial rape victim Diane Davies in the Daily Mail story I was viciously raped on this Barbados beach but local police cared more about protecting tourism, says brave British grandmother
Memories of murdered tourist Terry Schwarzfeld
Murdered Canadian tourist Terry Schwarzfeld
Our government, police and tourism industry obviously learned nothing from the February 28, 2009 daylight beach murder of Canadian tourist Terry Schwarzfeld. Mrs. Schwarzfeld’s murder came after her killer had committed a series rapes and robberies at the same spot over the course of several years.
The police and tourism authorities covered up the crimes and ineptly left the serial criminal to continue his business at his usual location. That cover-up and incompetence is part of the reason that Mrs. Schwarzfeld was murdered on a tourist beach in broad daylight.
Then when Mrs. Schwarzfeld was murdered there was the usual total lack of proper response from the authorities.
Stories of tourists being victimized twice – once by the criminal and again by the Barbados authorities – are becoming steady fare in the world’s news media.
Last April, another serial rapist victim, British actress Hilary Heath, told the world “Barbados police only concerned with tourist image.”
In January 2011, the major travel forum Cruise Critic expressed surprise that Barbados hadn’t taken action after the Schwarzfeld murder.
The stories go on and on: British Tourist Shot, Robbed Near Sandy Lane Resort Barbados On June 4, 2009 – Victim Alleges Silence By Barbados News Media, Hotel, Tourism Authorities
Questions about the role of racism in the attacks and lack of police response
Some of the Daily Mail Barbados crime articles make mention that the victims in most of the publicized incidents are white, while the attackers are mostly “black”. (For the record, I don’t see any “white” or “black” skin on this island but I do see lots of mixes of pink, red, brown and every shade imaginable!)
Spoken or unspoken, race is always a fact in Barbados, always just below the radar. And what else would you expect considering our history?
I, Marcus, believe that race does occasionally enter the picture in the choice of victim and in the level of service or response by police: and I mean OCCASIONALLY. Most of the tourists are white(ish). Most Bajans, including the criminals, robbers and rapists, are a somewhat brownish shade. So when a tourist is attacked it is usually a white(ish) victim and a darker-skinned criminal. That’s common sense and it’s demographics in Bim.
Tourists are also attacked because 1/ they have money and 2/ they are leaving the island soon and probably won’t return for any trial or meet the attacker on the street by chance. That’s not racism, that is common strategy by criminals anywhere in the world.
More often on this island race is a weapon to be unsheathed in political battles or to yell “THE WHITES ARE TO BLAME FOR (insert current issue here).
Owen Arthur and Liz Thompson are masters of what I’ll call strategic or tactical racism. But that “tactical racism” has a foundation, and it is that foundation of racism that unprincipled opportunists like Arthur and Thompson exploit.
Racism towards tourists and foreigners does happen
We’d be telling a big one if we didn’t state that for some folks, the historical hostility left over towards the plantation class guides their thoughts and actions towards tourists. Where big trouble starts is when our leaders and media have their little open discussions and call a murdered Canadian tourist “White Trash”…
… or when the discussion turns to race and some warped Bajans think that genocide of all non-blacks is a worthy goal…
And then we have so-called community leaders like BANGO Director Roosevelt O. King, who declared at the racist but popular Barbados Underground blog…
“I put it to you that 90% of the white (women) tourists that come to Barbados enjoy being sex slaves to black men and the talk don’t deter them.”
“White women are so fascinated by black men. They love to do the oral to black men because they think that when they drink our sperm, they getting nourishment, like how you drink milk from the cow.”
… BANGO (Barbados Association of Non-Governmental Organisations) Secretary General Roosevelt O. King published at Barbados Underground.
I can’t believe that Mr. King said that using his own name, but he did. I guess ROK considers that talk to be normal in public. Somehow I don’t think that prospective women tourists will find ROK’s attitudes acceptable, especially when reading about serial rapists who target tourists.
When does racism produce poor police response?
More often than not, poor police response and uncaring attitudes towards victims (especially women) has nothing to do with race. Barbados police don’t usually care about the race of the victim: they provide equally inept and uncaring service to all skin colours.
But there are times when we wonder…
“We were not surprised by the lack of (police) response, especially after repeated death and rape threats against myself and wife and suspected arson attacks were never satisfactorily investigated, despite overwhelming evidence of the source.”
…Barbados hotelier and British foreign investor Adrian Loveridge talks about Barbados Police and crime
Barbados Free Press 
All I can say is BRAVO, fully agree 99.99%.
Why not castrate some the the men that rape & are convicted, when they go to DODS? That might put a stop to all this evilness.
Barbados already has a damaged image in Canada since the 2009 murder of one of their citizens, I believed that is why a lot of their citizens are now going to other islands or other holiday destinations. This latest exposure may not have the same effect on the British but do not be surprised if there is a knock on effect. The very thing that the Authorities and BTA is trying to protect can so easily be damaged by their lack of compassion for a visitor in trouble in Barbados. A large number of people in government positions need some serious lessons in CUSTOMER SERVICE and HUMANITY. How can you not offer a rape victim any kind of compassion or comfort regardless of Nationality. It is also interesting to note that incidents like this are not given much coverage in our National Media, How many rapes are there each year in Barbados that a vast majority of the population knows nothing about, and that is not because of respecting the victim’s situation either. I also know for a fact that a lot of our Police Officers are just outright rude and dismissive regardless of your colour.
TOURISM should carry a warning BUYER BEWARE!!
Bad things can happen to tourists anywhere in the world. Just a few examples – several Canadian tourists have been murdered this year in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, a honeymoon couple from Wales were murdered in Antigua last year. In St Lucia either one or two British young women were raped and a group of gay tourists beaten up in their villa. In the mediteranean area there have been several incidents where British tourists have been murdered, in one case a woman had her head chopped off outside a supermarket, a young child in Portugal dissappeared never to be found. In Aruba an American tourist also dissappeared never to be found. Never the less, violence where ever it is needs to be addressed. In the Barbadian incident the pathway this British tourist took needs to be secured (if it’s the same one I am thinking of), it runs from the main road just south of where Chefette was located. 2 derelict properties with a canal on one side line the route until it meets up with the boardwalk. It is desolate and scary.
it just ain’t Beautiful Barbados anymore…….not only its beauty that has been destroyed by a wall of concrete, but its safety for tourists is not what it used to be. Now it is not safe to leave your things on the beach while you swim.
I am afraid that the end of an era of tranquility and safety has arrived.
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A Mother of Four Grandmother of Nine
Anglesey resident came to our shores with leisure design
Mother of four and a grandmother of nine
One her own since widowed by the ravaging cancer of the pancreas
Travelled and stayed here once before and had liked Barbados
Holiday memories on her last stay though evoke no paradise
Experienced the uglier side of humankind at a debilitating price
Raped by a criminal but by our nation too
Our incompetency blared blindingly but we Bajans never knew
For this 62 years old teacher her island memories
Flood with brutal treatment no white sandy beaches, no palm trees
Over and over she relives last winter here, in a walking nightmare
Unable to erase her ordeal she thought it was time to publicly share
Rape on any one can be silenced in shame
Girls young or ladies old, all feel the same
Regardless to an arrest the feeling of violation never goes away
And so, too many women stay quiet and hide with dismay
Not many things are worse than being mishandled by a constabulary
Diane Davies bruised and swollen told her startling story
My life was saved because I chose to speak
On relating my family status his will to kill got weak
That saved my life but speaking to the police started an ordeal
How dispassionate and unsympathetic the police seem to feel
Earlier that week there were two other rapes
Regardless no police monitoring, no signs just cover-up drapes
Our police seem more concerned with the tourist trade
Focused on protecting the Island’s image, an incompetent charade
Now Mrs. Davies we must change the way others are treated, be assured that we
In Barbados regret this brutal treatment and offer our sympathy
No rape should be swept aside or hushed away, we can’t mistreat humankind
Especially tourists we aim to attract and surely not A Mother of Four Grandmother of Nine
Couple of years ago we rented a house called “Senderlea” on the west coast not far from the Cliff restaurant.
One morning as my wife and I were having a swim in the garden our 9 year old daughter appeared as white as a ghost and terrified beyond belief because she had just disturbed a robber who was busy ransacking the house.
Luckily she was physically unharmed but to this day suffers severe anxiety attacks due to this encounter.
What really disturbed us was the comments the local police made…”We are fed up telling Bajan Services to step up security on this house as it’s been burgled 4 times now in the past 18 months”.
We were horrified that a so called reputable tour company could disregard such advice and not take steps to inform tourists that this particular property was a hot risk etc…
Needless to say we have not been back to Barbados and can only give thanks to whoever that our precious daughter was not subjected to anything more sinister,
Just read that Barbados police dealt with 169 rape cases in 2010…!
For such a small country this has got to ring major alarm bells and should these awfull statistics hit the likes of Twitter or Facebook you face economic disaster.
Why can’t rapist men & women just keep their hands & other body parts to themselves? They’re twisted & sick!
@ Peter – I am sure your experience was traumatic, but with your decision not to return to Barbados did you also decide to vacate your country of residence and move to a deserted island? Crime exists in all countries – granted that some countries experience more violent crimes than others, a major country in central america for example, which by the way still remains extremely popular. When it comes to tropical islands people who live in Europe or North America generally have this distorted view of an idyllic lifestyle, of sea and sand and quaint pleasant natives.
“Duppy Lizard November 30, 2011 at 2:04 pm ”
When it comes to tropical islands people who live in Europe or North America generally have this distorted view of an idyllic lifestyle, of sea and sand and quaint pleasant natives.
This how Barbados is marketed and promoted in these markets?
Should the BTA then tell the honest truth or for that matter stop the misleading adverts?
Happy Independence day!
“When it comes to tropical islands
people who live in Europe or North America generally have this distorted view
of an idyllic lifestyle, of sea and sand and quaint pleasant natives.”
They have that distorted view because that is the distorted view placed in their heads by Barbados tourism advertising!
It’s precisely the image and imagery we deliberately project!
Saying that crime also occurs in their country, or in other countries too..
is a feeble response, and achieves nothing.
This is not a reason or an excuse for what happens on THIS island destination.
Barbados is on trial here, not UK Big Cities, not Antigua, not NYC!
Conspiracy of silence.. why would the police chief of barbados and all the other higher ups who knew about the raping of these innocent women and choose to do nothing, why are they still receiving a pay check from the government? i say fire them all. if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. tourism is serious business and ought to be treated as such.Barbados has a public relations nightmare on it’s hands. A good first step would be a good house cleaning, starting with the chief of police and all others who participate in this conspiracy of silence.
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I’m surprised that this has only now become headlines!
When my wife amn I first visited Barbados some 12 years ago there were problems like this.
A Canadian lady badly beaten up robbed on the beach between Hilton and Coconut Court, and a robbery at gun point at Harbour Lights.
And more recently people on the same airport/hotel transfer were shot!
In my view.this is continually ‘brushed under the carpet’ so it doesn’t have any effect on tourism.
Without tourism what has Barbados got?
This needs to be sorted out quickly or Barbados will suffer the financial consequences.
I saw a small mention about this on the Nation News website…but no details so thanks for posting this. After visiting Barbados for 20 years, last year my place was robbed for the first time. I have walked where that woman was raped in St. James, but the idea that this happened in broad daylight in a touristy area (not like Long Beach) makes me uneasy. Who wants to talk a chaperone on a daytime beach walk? And tourists have been encouraged to walk on those new beach boardwalks!!! Now I see that when I return to Barbados again this winter I’ll have to be on guard against incidents of random theft and violence. I agree with the commenter that said there needs to be more media coverage of the social problems in Barbados — that sends the wrong message to everyone, that you can do what you want and it will be swept under the table.
I understand the little path leading from the main road in Holetown to where this rape took place is closed following this horrendous rape. Pictures of the suspect were posted at the Beach Club pool but it would appear that this picture still appears on Police web sites. My experience with Holetown police can only be described as
demoralising. As a company director from the UK i tried to report a stalking incident by a german man against a girlfriend. They simply were not interested nor would the recordt the incident in their diary. I was aghast at their attitude.
Barbados needs to address it’s crime element
aggressively & quickly, it’s horrible for business!!!!!!!!!!
Rape is a horrible crime anywhere that it may it occur!!!!
I was just reading about a rape of an asian-american
tourist while in northern Ireland recently_ does the woman
in the article feel that She would have been treated
much better if She were raped back in her native country of the UK or om northern Ireland? Rape is Rape, it’s horrible any where
that it happens !!!!!
Maybe sensitivity training would indeed help
& be beneficial for the the hospital personnel, the
police department & rape social workers
in barbados, but the crime of Rape will
still be a horrible experience – it’s often
accompanied with violence, threats & physical pain,
and the victim might feel frustration with the local crime
reporting system, but rape is rape, the same thing happens
in the UK & northern Ireland.
_ even if the government of Barbados provided
free body guards & security after the fact, & provided her with lavish free meals, free booze, massages or physical therapy,
duty free shopping or to put this woman up in a 5 star villa suite for free of if they held this this poor woman’s hand 24/7 – until she left the island__ This victim was complaining about her physical pain,her hunger, & weather? The ritzy hotels? What does that have to do with the average Bajan??? – Rape can happen anywhere.
No One can ever do enough in situations of rape – the Rape Victims are going to be very upset!
The Rape Victim in this article
seems to have a need to vent about the
random actions of one psychotic nasty criminal lurking in barbados_ but the truth is Rape can happen anywhere in the world It’s never going to be a great experience, whether it occurs on a touristy humid tropical island or back on
the victim’s native land – back in the UK!!!!!
Tourists in the Caribbean are easy targets , this rapist has raped more than reported, do these crimes occur in your own country , of course, the difference is they are dealt with , in the Caribbean no support at all, look at Trinidad and Tobago, same complaints no action, sadly tourists will get the message and stay away, A member of my family was viciously attacked on Tobago 2009 , place called Bacolet, I am sure you have heard of the Greens, still no resolution there either , All of the Carribean is dangerous, take great care , also carry mega insurance , luckly my family did , but even then it was very difficult
Tourist or not . All women should be protected against rape
I agree all Woman should be protected , how ever if it is a local it may not even hit the news, Tourists a re a easy target as they are on the Island only for a short period og time, the judical system is weak and deceitful , advice stay away from the Caribbean , I know for one I will
I do not think there was any joint conspiracy or maliciousness
between the Bajan Police & Tourism Department
to hide or cover- up this old woman’s rape case so the
statements that She is making is slanderous and serves
to undermine the whole island over the actions of one criminal rapist,
and a few incompetent social workers.
This is more an issue of the Lack of better training
and the real need for more resources to address the problem of rape.
There is no need to try malign the whole island
with this type of slander over one rape case!
Rape occurs to People of all colors, ethnicity’s,
nationalities from all income brackets become
innocent victims of rape
in Barbados, Yearly?
Children, the Young & the Old, Boys and
Girls, many of those vile & horible rape
cases that happen to native bajans
will also never be solved!!!!
The goal should be better treatment & a better task force
for all rape victims, not just for some.
Should tourist rape cases only get top
priority to be solved in Barbados?
I’ve read that the rape victim in the article was
frustrated and dismayed that she was not given anything to drink or eat and She had been kept at the police station for a long period of time!
Many people don’t know what to expect when reporting a rape at a police station.
I don’t think it was conveyed properly to this rape victim what was going to happen
during the police examination.
Any rape victims should be
prepared to stay at the police station for several hours.
If a victim is diabetic or dietary concerns
they may need to speak up during the questioning & testing session
to let the police know they have health concerns.
When a rape is reported by a victim to the Police
They don’t want evidence or the person who was raped to be
contaminated or cross contaminated so they will not
want the victim to eat or drink, smoke, brush their
teeth, or wash up during the intensive questioning & the testing by the police.
They don’t want the victim to change clothes or
go to the bathroom or shower until after all of the testing is totally complete.
A medical forensic examination will be carried out by a police surgeon.
The rape examination is not a medical check-up it is solely for
collecting forensic evidence & DNA to support that a rape had happened.
A Person can make a request to see a general practitioner
or go to an ER if they think they are in need acute
medical attention for injuries.
The job at the rape examination is solely to collect the rape evidence. This is general rape procedure worldwide &
Reporting a Rape does not mean anyone will ever be convicted or charged, it alerts the police that a crime has taken place and sets in motion efforts to catch the rapist.
Barbados should invest in SANE method certified training and the
International Association of Forensic Nurses’ (IAFN) Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) for their Rape Crisis Personnel, as they do in the United
States and Canada.
I don’t think Diane Davies was singled out for neglect or bad treatment
by anyone, Barbados lags behind in Progressive Rape Crisis Training.
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Certification Program that’s
in practice in many metropolitan cities
could have greatly helped with her rape victims advocacy to make a
very difficult time, more comfortable & less confusing for the victim.
There was talk of establishing a Sexual Assault Response team in Barbados,
Back in 2009 because Barbados only had 1 nurse specializing in it at that time_
[that ‘s One Nurse] It’s a full 3 years later, 2011 & I don’t know what became of the initiative to better train & provide resources those who interact with rape victims in crisis.
THEY SHOULD STOP HIDING CRIME IN BARBADOS –
AND STOP SAVING THEIR TOURISM IMAGE –
GOD FORBID – BE SAFE ALL YA –
barbados.! what to do?
money is all that matters.crime,murder ,rape who cares the police on the take also.barbados gone! there is no such place anymore.
they should change the name to LOST BARBADAS.
the most corrupt and disguising country in the world.
the answer i have for you is not a good one.
it can never change as the people that live there are animals and beast of the field.that can not change ever.!!!!!!!!!white and black alike.
On Friday 25h January 2013 two visitors to Barbados were viciously
stabbed hours after arriving on the island at a house which was unsecured and backed right onto the ocean… The husband was stabbed in the back several times and his wife through her chest damaging her organs and she has received surgery in QEH A lone man wearing a mask and carrying a long knife carried out this vile attack and then I gather that the man’s money was stolen from him while he was at the hospital.Of course Barbados will not report this incident -they just send round a nice lady from the Tourist Board and hope that the world will not hear about the sad state of affairs on this island. I am afraid that Barbados will end up like Jamaica violent and unjust and I am so sorry for the women who were raped and the consequences plus all the legal problems involved.
I was considering going to Barbados with my partner next year, a very British island in the tropics but now will I hell. If the colonists and govenors in the 17th and 18th centuries had’nt imported so many black African slaves out of sheer greed and exploitation. These islands would be far more safer and civilised. I think maybe Cuba.