"GBV in the Caribbean is influenced by a combination of cultural norms and socio-economic disparities. Until we address these norms, no matter how many laws we pass, no matter how many millions of dollars we give for reforming the courts and making them a nice place to come to, until we make people feel empowered and until we are assured that within intimate relationships and all other relationships, that these are relationships of equal human beings, we will continue to see the same problems recur."

Women leaders and aspiring young female leaders recently came together at an Intergenerational Leadership Mixer to exchange ideas on building self-empowerment and social networks to propel young women’s economic empowerment in Saint Lucia

As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, governments have adopted by consensus a powerful Political Declaration to respect, protect, and champion the rights, equality, and empowerment of women and girls

Achieving true gender equality in the Caribbean requires more than just responsive actions—it demands a transformative shift in how institutions and governments address the barriers that perpetuate inequality. This was the key message during an inaugural staff Community of Practice hybrid session with participation from UN staff across Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

This three-day event, held from December 4-6, 2024, brought together parliamentarians, civil society representatives, and experts from 11 Caribbean countries. Organized by ParlAmericas, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) - Caribbean, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the workshop aimed to enhance parliamentarians' capacity to adopt an inclusive and gender-responsive approach to their legislative responsibilities

Saint Lucia's first-ever National Inter-Agency Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response (GBV) Task Force was officially launched on December 13, 2024, following a Cabinet Conclusion on November 11 which emphasized the urgency of addressing Gender-based violence (GBV) as a matter of national concern

Globally, 1 in 3 women are estimated to have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime, and UN Women-supported research conducted across 5 Caribbean countries found that an average of 46% of women have experienced at least 1 form of violence.

In Barbados, women spend nearly 2.5 times more time on childcare than men, and close to three times more performing domestic work, childcare and adult care, combined. Globally, figures show, women perform 75% of unpaid care work globally or 4 hours and 25 minutes daily. That is three times men’s average of 1 hour and 23 minutes per day.

With a substantial investment of nearly USD one million, the Joint SDG Fund was a pioneering initiative and the first of its kind in The Bahamas and Bermuda. It aimed to address the unique challenges faced by medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in the creative and cultural, agribusiness, and tourism industries sectors and foster sustainable economic growth.

UN Women MCO Caribbean is seeking to engage 30 Champions for the Beijing Platform for Action 30th Anniversary, also known as Beijing +30

Across the world and the SIDS, women depend more on, yet have less access to resources. Women are employed in sectors with high vulnerability to disasters and climate change, concentrated in tourism-related services and sales sectors, making them more exposed to economic shocks during and after the crisis than men, whose employment is more diversified. Unleashing the power of women as first responders to crisis, disaster risk reduction, and building economic and environmental resilience is crucial to achieving sustainable development.

A two-day workshop was part of a series of training hosted under the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Caribbean Regional Programme and implemented by the UN Women Multi-Country (MCO) Office – Caribbean and the National Women's Commission to equip CSOs with the skills to secure funding opportunities for sustained programmes, manage projects effectively, improve financial planning and ensure accurate reporting for accountability

The private sectors companies at the launch, including seventeen (17) WEPs signatories announced their commitments to the Principles which they are implementing through workplace policies for Domestic Violence victims/survivors as well as Paternity Leave. They advocated for more members of the private sector in Guyana to endorse and action the WEPs. This took place as attendees openly expressed concern for the recent fire in Mahdia where 19 children, mostly Indigenous girls aged 12 to 18, died.

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is a strategy to achieve gender equality, where budgets or proposed spending is analysed and designed to ensure interventions to eliminate inequalities between women and men and boys and girls, are adequately financed.

Women need to be engaged more in growth industries for increased sustainability, thereby reducing their economic dependence and vulnerability to gender-based violence.

When you think of Caribbean feminists, of the giants who made it their life’s work to realise a better world in every space that women and girls occupy, Hazel Brown is immediately one of those women you call to mind.

UN Women MCO Caribbean is planning a Caribbean CSO Movement-Building Retreat to provide space for CSOs to strategise and respond to challenges facing women's organisations, in particular those addressing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and its intersections. Scheduled to be held in the third week of July, the event falls under the global Spotlight Initiative, launched in 2017 by the United Nations with financing from the European Union. This initiative aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by the year 2030.

Autonomous social movements and relevant CSOs, including those representing youth and groups facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination/marginalization, more effectively influence and advance progress on GEWE and ending VAWG. Resources are being made available under Outcome 1 and the Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica and Caribbean Regional programme respectively for non-governmental organisations to provide regional programmatic support to the UN Women MCO Caribbean.

Dr. Ronya Foy Connor is the National Gender Development Coordinator in the Ministry of Social Development and Education in the Government of Anguilla. As a woman in public leadership and academic, Dr Foy Connor is strategically positioned to challenge gender inequalities in all forms.

The Barbados Limegrove Lifestyle Centre and Altman Real Estate welcomed the opportunity to partner with UN Women and WFP to recognise the 16 Days of Activism. The colour orange represents a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls, and is a unifying theme running through all the global activities of the #UNiTE Campaign.