In recognition of the important role of the Victim and Witness Support Unit (VWSU) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service as service providers for critical case management and psycho-social support for survivors of gender-based violence, the Spotlight Initiative team has contributed critical ICT equipment worth nearly 70 000 USD to strengthen the capacity of the Unit.

Under the Regional Spotlight Initiative UN Women seeks to conduct a baseline survey. Proposals are invited from Firms/Consortium of Consultants outlining the methodology to i) Establish Baselines, Milestones, and Targets for the Caribbean Regional Spotlight Initiative ii) Complete Caribbean Regional Programme Results Framework/Monitoring Matrix and iii) Update the Caribbean Regional Programme Monitoring & Evaluation Plan. The Firm/Consortium of Consultants are also expected to propose a monitoring system along the instruments and recommended methods for data collection and measurement of the indicators for the Regional Spotlight Program, based on the results framework.

Under the EnGenDER Project, UN Women is aiming to conduct a Geospatial Analysis on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Poverty and Climate Change Impacts. Proposals are invited from companies/firms outlining the methodology for gender analysis data for the design of a model for geospatial mapping of GBV and climate hazard impacts. The firm is also expected to train senior technical officers from EnGenDER beneficiary countries on the design and application of the model for geospatial mapping of GBV and climate hazard impacts.

Evidence of women’s increased vulnerability is in the pre-existing social and cultural demands on women and girls as primary caregivers with the imbalanced responsibilities for care of the elderly, children and the sick. This care work increases in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and continues long after.

UN Women and the CARICOM Secretariat recently held preparatory meetings ahead of CSW66 – “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”.

UN Women’s Small Grants are designed to support institutional strengthening and capacity-building, especially for smaller organisations. This call specifically supports CSOs working in the area of family violence, especially responding to the needs of women and children survivors as well those who face discrimination or marginalisation. Expressions of interest that focus on intersectional issues are highly encouraged.

Development of a Rapid Gender Analysis that aims to provide humanitarian actors with recommendations to address the needs of women and girls to ensure their rights and needs are at the core of recovery and reconstruction efforts.

This past year, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the tourism and hospitality sector – one of the key economic drivers of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – due to border closures or restricted movement. This economic shock also extended to craft traders, many of whom are responsible for their families’ livelihoods and are women. What did this mean for those whose livelihoods were reliant on tourist arrivals?

As the country remains in a state of national emergency, UN Women, along with its national partners and the entire UN and international cooperation system, joins the efforts in response to the earthquake. Immediate humanitarian support, protection of rights, food security and early recovery are the priorities for women's organizations and Haitian women.

The UN Women Multi-Country Office Caribbean is seeking to contract an Institute to provide virtual Gender-Responsive Disaster Risk Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Training for at least 50 Senior Technical Officers in selected priority areas in nine Caribbean Countries in the period August to December 2021.

An important violence prevention programme is underway for young people in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the UN Women “Foundations Programme - Strengthening Prevention Approaches to Addressing Gender-Based Violence in the Caribbean” for young women and men - 13 to 24 years of age.

Six months on, since the Category 5 hurricane battered the small island nation, UN Women assessment shows what women want is assistance to get back on their feet and back to work, not handouts.

In a statement following the murders of environmental activist Lesbia Yaneth in Honduras and Jo Cox in the United Kingdom, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka calls for collective action on discrimination against political harassment and violence against women.