News Releases

Not enough being done to combat Violence Against Women, says IGDS

For Release Upon Receipt - November 25, 2016

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. November 25, 2016 – The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) at The UWI St. Augustine Campus is calling on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to adopt a public policy agenda that treats with Violence Against Women as an urgent, current and multifaceted challenge to people-centred, equitable development. They are advocating for the government to: immediately implement the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Sexual Violence; bring before the Parliament legislation to end Child Marriage in Trinidad and Tobago; and to develop a plan of action to eliminate silos in our processes of data collection on all dimensions of Violence Against Women.

IGDS urges all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to not convince themselves that Violence Against Women is no longer a development priority. Neither must the nation subscribe to the view that the attainment of economic independence for women translates into the absence of violence. IGDS commemorates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25 and have issued a statement to mark the day. IGDS is also commemorating the event by beginning of 16 Days of Activism, which will end on December 10 – Human Rights Day.  

Violence Against Women is the oldest public policy area pertaining to gender equity and equality, around which, regional governments, practitioners, scholars and activist have rallied. In keeping with 2016’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Invest and mobilize to end violence against women, IGDS asserts that to effectively address Violence Against Women, society must reflect, and revisit our systems of closely held gendered beliefs. Why can young girls be married with parental consent before the age of majority fostering an acceptance of adult males forming sexual relationships with under-aged girls? Why is it acceptance that the powerless and vulnerable in our society can be beaten? These are not concerns solely for women, neither is it simply a legal issue.  

The critical need for the development of a holistic, research-informed response from our various public institutions, to give teeth to our disparate legal remedies relating to Violence Against Women cannot be overstated. The place of health provisioning, social services, the protective services and other governmental actors central to this work needs to be recognised and accounted for. There must be acknowledgement that these attending institutions have been woefully poor in seeking to establish a relevant and consistent agenda on matters of reducing incidents of violence against women.  

It is based on these, and other challenges, that the IGDS calls for priority to be placed on public policy responses that are not burdened with ahistorical ambitions around newness, instead of capitalising on, and investing in the work that has gone before. Towards this end they urge the government to undertake the following: 

  • Immediately implement the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Sexual Violence

  • Bring before the Parliament legislation to end Child Marriage in Trinidad and Tobago

  • Develop a plan of action to eliminate silos in our processes of data collection on all dimensions of Violence Against Women. 

    For more information about IGDS, please feel free to contact them through the following platforms: Telephone: 662-2002 ext. 83573/83577 | Email: igds@sta.uwi.edu | Website: http://sta.uwi.edu/igds/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IGDSStAugustineUnit.   

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    About The UWI

    Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu  

    (Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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