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.
Comments