Sharon Rowley champions fight against gender-based violence

Spotlight Initiative National Champion Sharon Clark-Rowley says silence and inaction are not options when it comes to fighting violence against women and girls.

Speaking at the Spotlight Initiative Transition Conference at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre, Trinidad, on November 28 Clark-Rowley said,

“It is a role that has allowed me to speak for many voiceless women in our country, who are victims of domestic violence, who come from all walks of life, but who all suffer in silence. We must be our sisters’ keeper.

“Through the Spotlight Initiative, we have embarked on a journey to what some cynically call utopia, a place where it is hoped we will eventually see the elimination of gender-based violence (GBV), achieve gender equality, and experience the empowerment of all women and girls in our society. We want to see every woman and girl reach her full potential.”

She said the goal might seem ambitious, given the headlines, but “we could make it if we try, according to the Mighty Stalin.”

Clark-Rowley said the initiative has had a positive effect on the country since its introduction in 2020, and brought the realisation that it will take a whole of society approach to solve the problem.

“All hands are now on deck, the government, our health and social services, our police, our justice system, our international partners, civil society, our local communities, and of course our men. We are all change agents.”

The purpose of the conference was to bring Spotlight Initiative stakeholders together to celebrate the work they had done, and come up with ways ensure the growth and sustainability of the programme nationally once EU funding was not available at the beginning of 2024.

Clarke-Rowley said those present would decide how those present would build on their achievements, some of which she listed.

“We have had Cabinet approval of a National Strategic Action Plan on gender-based and sexual violence. There have been amendments to the Domestic Violence Act, which will further protect victims of intimate partner violence. We have seen the upgrading of the GBV registry, the development and launch of the National Inter-Agency Protocols for child abuse prevention and management, the digitisation of the National Child Policy in English and Spanish versions, the strengthening of prevention approaches to address GBV in the Caribbean through the Foundations programme, which sensitised more than 1,000 people.

“We have witnessed the training of the justice and security sector, the development of a joint workplace policy on GBV, the development of a GBV curriculum by the Heroes Foundation in 40 schools, which has impacted more than 9,000 students, and participated in a collaboration with collaborating partner ICAN, the Indigenous Creative Arts Network, to effectively communicate the need to challenge and influence harmful attitudes through conversations with young people. There were conversations under the heading GBV and me with faith-based leaders, men and boys, in the target areas in TT.”

Clarke-Rowley said ICAN had broadcast Spotlight messages to approximately 271,181 people across Trinidad and Tobago. She said the crème-de-la-crème of the achievements were the National Clinical and Policy Guidelines on Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence in TT.

“These are guidelines which provide a critical response to the unacceptable levels of IPV and SV in TT by strengthening the delivery and coordination of health care services.”

She said it was her sincere desire that when attendees left the two-day conference on Wednesday, they would leave with renewed hope to continue the quest for a violence-free society for women and girls.

Spotlight Initiative UN resident coordinator Joanna Kazana said the programme would not have been possible without the EU’s commitment of over €500 million to 26 countries, for initiatives empowering women and girls. She said it was driven by reports of family violence rising as people were locked in their homes during the pandemic.

She said the five implementing agencies – UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and PAHO/WHO, successfully managed a joint budget of TT$5.3 million in TT to implement programme activities which addressed all forms of family violence.

EU ambassador to TT Peter Cavendish said the TT programme was a role model example to other countries of what could be done. He said the goal of the initiative was to shine a spotlight on GBV while harnessing the resources to fight it. He said $36 million was allocated to TT to address the problem of funding.