Government, activists, CSOs discuss future of GBV fight

As 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) comes to an end on December 10, government agencies, activists, civil society organisations, and others involved in the fight against GBV look toward the new year. On November 28 and 29, these entities gathered together to discuss the progress made under the EU-funded Spotlight Initiative over the last three years.

Speaking at the Spotlight Initiative Transition Conference at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre, Trinidad, on November 28, Gender and Child Affairs Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy said there has been a 41 per cent increase in reported domestic violence cases from 2021 to 2023.

She said in 2023 alone, up to September, the police service’s crime and problem analysis unit (CAPA) recorded 1,968 cases predominantly affecting women and girls.

“When analysed further, the data demonstrated the youthfulness of the phenomenon with most of the victims ranging from 15 to 35 years of age.”

Webster-Roy said while the statistics may be disheartening, TT should focus on building on the solid foundation established under the Spotlight Initiative, which was introduced in 2020.

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.

She said there was a focus on the Tunapuna-Piarco, Mayaro-Rio Claro and Tobago regions, and shared some of the results.

“Integrating models, prevention approaches, and quality services served to reduce all forms of violence. The Government recognises the need for a responsive action plan, which could only be achieved through an all-of-society approach, with the support of global organisations, as well as civil society organisations (CSOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs), regional corporations, private citizens and especially corporate entities.”

Webster-Roy said ending GBV is everyone’s business. She said the significance in establishing and sustaining the partnerships formed during the Spotlight Initiative cannot be overstated.

“Collaborations that will expand our access to resources and knowledge carry us further. Rather than working in silos, these alliances can help ensure more efficient use of resources as well as ensuring the implementation of an integrated model, preventative strategies, and easily accessible services to end family violence. We need to overcome the issue of working in silos.

“Spotlight would have taught us at the OPM Gender and Child Affairs about the power of collaboration, which would have helped us to establish an inter-ministerial committee addressing issues around child abuse and strengthening child care protection system in TT.”

Webster-Roy said government is committed to the adaptation of programmes for behavioural change.

Spotlight Initiative national co-ordinator Kelly-Ann Phillips gave an overview of the achievements of the programme.

“We looked at six pillars of addressing GBV: laws and policies, institutions, prevention, services, data, women’s movements, and CSOs. We also tried not to recreate the wheel but to build on, strengthen, and collaborate with programmes being carried out by CSOs before the Spotlight Initiative arrived.”

She said an updated comprehensive national strategic action plan was submitted to Cabinet, and approved in June 2023. The National Child Policy was digitised and a child-friendly version was created in English and Spanish.

She said they focused strategically on institutions of the police service, judiciary, family services and local government.

“We looked at the gender protocol and created a companion guide to institutionalise the gender protocols into these various agencies. We assessed the GBV case management services by the national family services and the THA Division of Health. We carried out sensitisation work with over 1,000 people from police youth clubs. We had a GBV curriculum developed by the Heroes Foundation in consultation with and implemented by young people, which affected 9,000 young people.

“We had a landmark study about the social norms surrounding violence against children, trying to understand the cultural, religious, social norms around that phenomenon. We looked at a joint workplace policy on GBV and sexual harassment with the public sector, with sensitisation of 26 training partners and 86 private companies. We saw 400 officers trained in gender responsive policing, and the curriculum was incorporated into the police academy curriculum to be rolled out to all 7,000 officers.”

Phillips said community outreach campaigns were carried out for the general public. She said the National Clinical and Policy Guidelines on IPV and sexual violence was approved by the Ministry of Health.

“This is the first official national framework in the health sector on violence against women and how you treat with them in the health sector, so it’s an excellent achievement. We also had a catalogue of services for survivors, first responders, and health care providers to access.”

Phillips said the initiative worked on the development and interoperability of data systems and registries where data is captured, so that victims are not retraumatised after an assault by giving the same information over and over.

“We got the approval of the Health Information Management system in the health sector, and then we also got the Child Information Protection System that was launched through Children’s Authority, and there was a GBV registry through the OPM. There was also a baseline assessment of the systems we do have to figure out where the gaps exist, and provided needed equipment like computers and mobile phones.”

Phillips said small grants of up to US$30,000 had been given to CSOs with proposals continuing to be reviewed. She said a comprehensive capacity building programme was also completed for 13 community groups and the development of a peer network between CSOs.

UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean representative Toni-Ann Brodber said TT had the third highest rate of violence against women and girls in the Caribbean, falling behind Guyana at 55 per cent and Suriname at 48 per cent, while in Grenada and Jamaica, the figure is 39 per cent.

Brodber said the increase in reported cases of GBV might be because women experiencing it at home may trust the system enough to report.