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  • 1 year ago
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed annually on November 25th, which also marks to start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women has long supported this awareness and some are of the opinion, that more is needed to curb such incidences in T&T.

Joining us now virtually is Tricia McIntosh, Director of Public Relations of Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women.
Transcript
00:00The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed annually
00:06on November 25th, which also marks the start of the 16 days of activism against gender-based
00:13violence.
00:14The network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women has long supported this awareness and
00:19some are of the opinion there is more needed to curb such incidences in TNT.
00:25Joining us now virtually is Tricia McIntosh.
00:28She's Director of Public Relations of the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women.
00:34Ms. McIntosh, thank you so much for joining us.
00:37Thank you for having me.
00:39It's my pleasure.
00:40How would you, how would your organization describe the situation of violence against
00:45women in TNT?
00:47Well, the violence is really a pervasive human rights violation.
00:55That's how bad it is.
00:56For example, globally, 56% of women are murdered or killed by someone that they know.
01:04Already for the year, we have had 41 women killed.
01:10This is the extent of what is happening in society today.
01:15And we have to recognize that as a society, this gender-based violence is not just about
01:23women, but it is a community and a society as a whole.
01:28What are some of the key things your organization would like to see from stakeholders?
01:33We would like to see more involvement, really.
01:39It's the 16 days of activism, and yes, we saw a lot of government organizations and
01:47NGOs having events.
01:50But if you talk to the man on the street, he is totally unaware, he or she, I should
01:55say, they are totally unaware of the significance of this 16 days of activism.
02:02So we would like to have more awareness, we would like to have more involvement.
02:07We would also like to have more support where it concerns the batterer's home, the shelters
02:17for women, to have more donations.
02:20We'd like to have more conversations and more actions with men for them to recognize
02:26that it's not just a woman issue, it's everyone who is affected by gender-based violence.
02:34What about awareness activities planned for these 16 days of activism, and how can persons
02:41who are interested be more involved?
02:45Right, thank you for asking.
02:47So, on the 30th of November, we will be hosting Dare to Soar, which is a confidence-building
02:57workshop for girls from the age of 12 to 16, and it's from 9 to 3.
03:07So we're asking parents to bring their girls to this confidence-building, because the thing
03:13is sometimes we need to build ourselves, know our self-worth, in order to recognize
03:20and set standards and recognize that we have to empower ourselves, right?
03:27And then on Sunday, December 1st, the Rape Prize Center will be having a silent walk
03:35and vigil, which is really to honor the survivors of gender-based violence, as well as to remember
03:42those who we have lost to violence, right?
03:46We are also encouraging persons to wear orange, yeah, have that connection with us, tell others,
03:54find out information about what services are out there, what they can do, how they can
04:03change the narrative that supports violence, and recognize that we need to take a stand.
04:11Now, Ms. McIntosh, one of the statistics that we often hear in the Caribbean is that
04:1640% of women at some point in their lifetime experience violence from their partners.
04:23Across all your experience, all your interactions, would there be any one, in particular, one
04:29story that really reaches out to you as the most tragic and would make you want to be
04:36more involved and affect change?
04:38Well, I don't want to be very specific, but for me, what really breaks my heart, all the
04:47cases, I should say, really break my heart, but what really connects with me is when women
04:55are trying to leave certain circumstances, and yet still the perpetrator will try to
05:01come back and convince them to return, and that is when the unfortunate circumstance
05:09may happen and turn out into death.
05:12So as I said, I don't want to be very specific and call any one case, but all of these cases
05:18are too much incidences, but the ones that really, when they return and they feel and
05:27they get into those situations where they might end up dying.
05:32And I suppose, Ms. McIntosh, that would be where we would want to direct a lot of our
05:36attention to allow women to safely leave such circumstances.
05:41Unfortunately, Ms. McIntosh, our time has run out, but I want to thank you so much for
05:45joining us this evening and really getting that message out, and thank you for everything
05:49that you do.
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