Carriacou workshop strengthens multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence

Hillsborough, Carriacou: The Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs and the Local Government of Grenada recently updated the general public about strengthening multi-sectoral response teams for gender-based violence workshops.

According to the update, the workshop was held in Carriacou.

According to the official statement, stakeholders in Carriacou and Petite Martinique got the opportunity to better understand the Standard Operating Procedures for responding to Gender-Based Violence with their participation in a one-day workshop. It was organized by the Ministry of Social Development in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The workshop, according to Head of the Gender-Based Violence Unit Nicole, Neva Pitt, is part of a series of parish-level trainings with a view of strengthening the multi-sectoral teams for gender-based violence in all parishes.

As per the update shared by the authorities through social media, the Standing Operating Procedures for responding to Gender-Based Violence were developed in 2020 as part of the Spotlight Initiative to End Violence against Women and Girls. Experienced lawyer and Consultant Jacqueline Sealy-Burke, who facilitated the workshop, said with the alarming figures of gender-based violence in the region, it is important to enhance the overall knowledge of gender-based violence and its implications on the delivery of essential services

Sealy-Burke also said that it is important that stakeholders become acquainted with the Standing Operating Procedures that govern services responses to gender-based violence.

Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs and Local Government, Javan Williams, in giving brief remarks at the opening session of the workshop, noted that the culture of not speaking out or shielding perpetrators of violence needs to change.