Evidence-based community driven solutions are vital to addressing gender-based violence and crime

L-R r. Harriett DaSilva -  St. Vincent and the Grenadines Christian Council; Rhema Lewis - UN Women Build Back Equal Project Coordination Analyst; Jean Johnny-Findlay -Coreas Hazells Inc Pharmacies Manager; Oswald Robinson - SVG Teachers Union President and online: Rianka Chance - UN Youth Advisory Group Member (SVG). Photo compliments: LaFleur Quammie

Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, December 9th 2025: Crime and violence is a public health concern requiring solutions that stem from a human rights and gender-responsive approach.

UN Women, through the Build Back Equal (BBE) project - funded in part by the Government of Canada and jointly implemented with UNFPA - joined the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) and national stakeholders to develop a strategy that leverages the leadership and expertise of civil society organizations (CSOs) in tackling these social challenges.

The UN RCO-convened high-level workshop brought together key government officials, civil society representatives, and regional partners to explore how CSOs, individually and collectively, contribute to citizen security, crime prevention, and victim support.

Richard Jones, Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, presented best practices from regional CSOs in addressing violence within their communities. He emphasized the importance of data collection and publication, to guide evidence-based interventions.

Jeshua Bardoo, President of Equal Rights Access and Opportunities (ERAOS), urged the government to expand support for victims who cannot afford legal representation and other areas of support. Bardoo shared details of a new legal aid clinic being implemented by ERAOS and Red Root SVG Inc., with support from Lawyers Without Borders. The clinic is open to the general public but focuses on individuals facing violence and discrimination and was emphasized as an example of how local CSOs can leverage expertise to secure financial and technical resources for their target populations.

Dylan Kerrigan, Peace and Development Officer at the UN RCO, presented research showing that in the Caribbean, negative attitudes toward gender equality and lack of job security are major risk factors for violence, while community trust, access to care, and education serve as protective measures. He also shared on the "prevention ecosystem," which includes key areas such as data and learning, communities of practice, mapping and databases, succession planning, private sector engagement, digital hubs, visibility, and trust dialogues.

Rhema Lewis, UN Women Project Coordination Analyst for the Build Back Equal Project, reminded partners that any national approach to security must align with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ existing commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - particularly SDG 5 on Gender Equality, which cuts across all SDGs - as well as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). These frameworks call for women’s participation, protection, and leadership in all matters of peace and security.

Speaking on a knowledge expert panel titled “Partnership for Peace: Linking Local Action to Global Impact,” Ms. Lewis reaffirmed UN Women’s commitment to violence reduction:

“We at UN Women commit to contributing to economic stability through the Build Back Equal project. Economic stability and job security are among the leading protective factors in reducing crime and violence in our communities.”

UN Women emphasized that economic stability is inseparable from public safety, noting that unequal access to income, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities heightens vulnerability to violence—particularly for women, youth, and low-income households. Following a public health approach, Ms. Lewis stressed the importance of interventions guided by community and social context:

“Let us ensure that programmes are relevant to each community and its social realities. The experience of a child taking a ferry to school every day versus being dropped off exposes them and their family to risks we may not always see. Listening to lived experiences will help us design interventions that are grounded, culturally relevant, and far more effective.”

The workshop participants identified concrete partnerships and commitments to move forward.