Justice for Pacific & Caribbean Women & Girls

ICAAD recently traveled to Jamaica and Barbados to build partnerships, hear from local, regional, and international stakeholders, and co-create programs seeking to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in the Caribbean region. Rates of GBV are high and heavily underreported, and systems are in dire need of resources and reform. 

In over 30 meetings in two weeks, we learned of the immense challenges women and girls face in their journey to access justice, and the gaps that exist at every level. Some of the gaps identified rise from laws that are the vestiges of colonial British rule and have not been updated, while others stem from a lack of resources to combat GBV and from traditional mindsets rooted in patriarchy.

For example, healthcare providers do not regularly document signs of abuse, and are not required to do so unless dealing with children. Furthermore, there are few, if any, nurses or doctors properly trained in forensics dealing with sexual assault, which is a major gap in the prosecution of rape cases. Basic processes like seeking a protection order after facing domestic violence can also be incredibly challenging, with unnecessary barriers sometimes placed in the process by court clerks themselves.

Additionally, girls in Barbados and Jamaica, who are sometimes victims of abuse at home themselves and are trying to escape that abuse, are still being put into juvenile facilities for “wandering” or being “uncontrollable.” The facilities they are placed in have deplorable conditions, have standards of discipline and care that would violate international human rights norms while receiving inadequate education and nutrition. 

In addition to other partnerships we are continuing to build, in Jamaica, we are partnering with both government and civil society in building capacity for the dissemination of newly passed sexual harassment legislation, working to build stronger data analytics around GBV, and assisting in ground breaking litigation challenging rulings that threaten women and girls when it comes to protective orders and arbitrary arrests. 

In addition to women’s rights organizations, legal bar associations, and international bodies like UN Women, we met with members of the judiciary, police, departments of prosecution, and health ministries. Stay tuned for more updates as TrackGBV Caribbean gains momentum.