A/HRC/38/9 25. The time frame for presenting a voluntary bill of indictment had been reduced from 344 days in 2012 to 68 days in 2016, a big step towards the end goal of 30 days. 26. In an effort to tackle the backlog of cases, a Backlog Task Force had been established to closely review all outstanding cases and make determinations on how they should proceed. Furthermore, there were 10 criminal courts operating in the Bahamas Supreme Court, up from 6 in 2012. 27. The Office of the Public Defender had been established in January 2017. That body was specifically dedicated to defending the accused and easing the reliance on the Crown brief system. 28. The Witness Care Division was operating under a new system of keeping in regular contact with witnesses and had a defined Witness Care Road Map. Increased protection was in place for witnesses through new witness protection and witness anonymity legislation and policies. 29. With regard to reports of excessive use of force by police officers, the Complaints and Corruption Branch was responsible for investigating complaints made by members of the public against members of the Police Force. Complaints made in 2016 had declined by 11.17 per cent in comparison with 2015. Nevertheless, the Bahamas acknowledged that there were deficiencies in the Complaints and Corruption Branch due to a lack of oversight, and was therefore reviewing that body. 30. The Bahamas was in the process of drafting an amendment to the Bahamas Nationality Act to provide for all minor children of Bahamian males or females, born anywhere in the world, regardless of their parents’ marital status, to be granted Bahamian nationality upon application. 31. The Bahamas supported the efforts of all persons who wished to access higher education, inter alia by offering various scholarships. Furthermore, the Bahamas employed “open schooling”, complemented by distance education. Under the Ministry of Education, there was a Distance Education Unit in the Learning Resources Section, which sought to enhance education and provide education to all. A percentage of education expenditure was used to promote human rights. 32. The Bureau of Women’s Affairs had been upgraded to the Department of Gender and Family Affairs in October 2016 within the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development and its budget had been more than tripled. 33. In February 2016, the Bahamas had approved a national strategic plan to address gender-based violence. The plan covered all forms of violence, as it related to women and girls throughout the country. 34. The Bahamas was aware of the concerns of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies with respect to marital rape. It was therefore pleased to report that an amendment to the Sexual Offences Act provided for the offence of “spousal sexual abuse”. Although the proposed offence was not labelled as “marital rape”, it still had all of the elements of the offence of rape. Marital rape in the context of a subsisting marriage would now be criminalized as “spousal sexual abuse”. Consultations were ongoing with a view to criminalizing the issue as a form of “spousal sexual abuse”. 35. Since the previous review period, additional buildings had been constructed at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre to alleviate housing and maintenance issues. Moreover, the establishment of a full-time medical facility at the Centre had significantly reduced the spread of such communicable diseases as scabies. 36. Women detainees with children were kept in separate accommodation, in keeping with international standards. In 2014, the Department of Immigration had established a safe house for that purpose outside the Carmichael Road Detention Centre. 37. The immigration (detention centre) regulations, 2018, had been drafted and human rights issues had been enshrined in those regulations. The regulations clearly identified the welfare, privileges and duties of detainees, including, but not limited to, clothing, food, education and religion. 4