Joanne Massiah, attorney and president of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), has called for more women to be elected to parliament to ensure female perspectives are reflected in national laws and policies.

She made the comment during a panel discussion at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus marking International Women’s Day 2026 under the theme “Give to Gain”.

Massiah was responding to a question from a first-year law student about the continued marital rape exemption in Antigua and Barbuda’s Sexual Offences Act of 1995. The student described the legislation as among the weakest in the region in protecting victims.

“My short answer is that we have to put more women in parliament,” Massiah said, arguing that the country still operates within a patriarchal system influenced by religious traditions that can disadvantage women.

The student, who studies at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus, said Caribbean classmates had asked about Antigua and Barbuda’s legal position. She noted that countries including Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica have already removed marital rape exemptions.

Attorney Annetta Jackson, a Chevening Scholar and gender policy adviser, agreed the exemption was a serious concern, describing it as rooted in colonial views of marriage and bodily autonomy.

“If as an unmarried person I have the autonomy to choose my partner, the same principle should apply in marriage,” Jackson said. “If boundaries are breached and sex is non-consensual, it should be treated as such.”

Jackson said the continued exemption reflects a colonial legacy that treated marriage as a private sphere beyond the reach of the law, adding that evolving domestic violence jurisprudence shows such views are increasingly being challenged.