STANDING COMMITTEE OF CARIBBEAN STATISTICIANS ENDORSES UN WOMEN - CARICOM Guidelines and Protocols on the Collection and Use of Administrative Data on VAWG

Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians of CARICOM in their 48th meeting to endorse the CARICOM Guidelines and Protocols on the Collection and Use of Administrative Data on VAWG. Photo compliments CARICOM

01 November 2023, Nassau, Bahamas: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is endemic across the 5 Caribbean countries for which surveys have been conducted. On average, 46% of women have experienced at least 1 form of violence in her lifetime.

The Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians of CARICOM this week at its 48th meeting, endorsed the UN Women MCO-Caribbean commissioned CARICOM Guidelines and Protocols on the Collection and Use of Administrative Data on VAWG. Administrative data reflects what is recorded/captured by an agency or service provider interacting with victims or survivors or perpetrators of gender-based violence.

What has been regarded as the ‘normalisation’ of the pandemic of violence against women and girls in the Caribbean, strengthened the move towards regional collaboration to collect and manage administrative data on VAWG.

Across the region, stakeholders said this was a critical measure to address and arrest this developmental crisis. Author, Carol Watson Williams explained in the guidelines document that “Findings from country-specific, regional, and global initiatives, have contributed to establishing ethical guidelines and protocols for the effective management of VAWG administrative data.  This document represents the summary of these findings and charts the pathway towards action on a national and regional basis.”

UN Women MCO Caribbean commissioned the research under its pillar 5 data programming of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme.

Deputy Representative UN Women MCO Caribbean Isiuwa Iyahen said: “As the primary agents of accountability, governments are central to the coordinated response necessary to eliminate gender-based violence. These guidelines and protocols will enable CARICOM Member States to strengthen their accountability functions and allow them to assess whether services meet minimum standards for service provision in the health, justice, police and social services sectors.”