Let’s Talk TT: Using our words to uplift, not tear down our women, girls

Joint statement by HARRIET CROSS and PETER CAVENDISH for International Women’s Day 2023

THE BRITISH High Commission and the European Union Delegation created the Let’s Talk TT campaign in 2017 as a way to tackle gender inequality and gender-based violence (GBV). This project reinforced the work of local gender activists and galvanised support for women’s rights. It also created a platform for productive dialogue – in particular in relation to discussions about violence happening in homes and communities.

Women’s rights organisations are at the forefront, making a difference every day, in the fight for gender equality. The work they are doing, often quietly behind the scenes, sometimes loudly in the street, is of the utmost importance. That is why beginning today, International Women’s Day (IWD), and throughout 2023, Let’s Talk TT will be highlighting and supporting the work of one such organisation – the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (CCoTT) – and one of its programmes in particular, Love Languages.

While the prevention of physical violence against women and girls has been a major focus of past editions of our campaign, we will use our platform this year to focus attention on verbal violence and the ways in which this abuse causes psychological harm to women and girls.

Verbal violence is about not only the words communicated directly to our intimate partners, friends and family, but also the words "spoken" online.

Digital technologies have contributed significantly to the abuse of women and girls. According to Plan International, 38 per cent of women experienced online abuse, and young women, aged 18 to 24, are particularly at risk. In the same study, 50 per cent of girls say they have faced more online harassment than street harassment.

It is for this reason that the United Nations’s theme for IWD 2023 – DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality – seeks to focus on the ways in which access to digital technologies can positively impact social equality and economic opportunities for women, and also to take stock of the ways in which those same technologies are being used as a tool for abuse and harassment.

CCoTT’s Love Languages programme is intended to be a national, evidence-based, relationship-based, youth and young adult curriculum that addresses healthy romantic relationship skills and communication skills, alongside many other critical topics.

The 13-week programme is designed for teens and young adults and will provide them with a space to interact with each other in ways that encourage examination and reflection on who they are, how they are in relationships, what they want out of relationships, how to set meaningful expectations, communicate clearly, and to hold as well as to respect boundaries.

The programme will begin with a pilot in Port of Spain followed by schools and communities around the country. By the end of the programme, among other outcomes, participants will have a better understanding of the skills necessary to engage successfully in romantic and other relationships, use this understanding to enlighten their family members and peers and raise awareness about gender-based violence.

As we launch the Love Languages programme today, we want to recognise the other key partners in the initiative – the Heroes Foundation and the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative – who will use their resources and expertise to identify young people in schools and local communities to benefit from this programme. We also encourage secondary and tertiary school administrations who may be interested in this programme to contact CCoTT for more information.

Finally, we take this opportunity on International Women’s Day to applaud the work of all activists, but in particular the women activists who fight daily and against the odds to ensure an equal and safe space is created for our women and girls, in all spheres of life. The EU and the UK through this Let’s Talk TT campaign, as well as through the other initiatives and resources at our disposal, pledge to continue to support your work.

Happy International Women’s Day to all!

More information about the Love Languages Programme: 868-489-2185, tandtcedawcommittee@gmail.com, www.cedawtt.org

Harriet Cross is the high commissioner of British High Commission to TT

Peter Cavendish is the ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to TT