In the midst of an ongoing Know Your Rights drive, Saint Lucia has teamed up with other members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in a global promotional campaign to raise awareness about the ill-effects of gender -based violence.
The “Know Your Rights” campaign to stop gender-based violence in Saint Lucia was launched, last week, at a media briefing at the French Ambassador’s residence. According to the organisers, this nationwide communication campaign aims to raise awareness among the public, and more specifically among women and young girls in Saint Lucia who are victims of violence.
The Stop Gender-Based Violence project in Saint Lucia is a public initiative funded by the Republic of France through the French Embassy in Saint Lucia. The project was initially lunched in May, and is being undertaken in close collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Labour and Gender Affairs.
The main objective of this project is to strengthen the capacities of the Saint Lucian state and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in their fight against domestic violence.
Saint Lucia’s Gender Affairs Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte stated that law enforcement officers had to undergo comprehensive training to mediate in these matters of domestic violence.
“The law enforcement officers undertook a training (course) and we prepared a booklet, which will help them understand how to address issues of gender-based violence and domestic violence,” said Dr. Poyotte.
“So, our intention is to continue the training so that all police officers will be fully aware and fully trained on how to handle this issue,” she added. “And, we have to continue to educate the public …as there are many cases of gender-based violence and domestic violence that are under-reported. People are afraid of going out there to the police or to report the matter so that it can be addressed.”
The minister noted that it was important for people “to know their rights”, so that they may be better able to protect themselves and deal with different situations.
“One of the biggest achievements we hope to accomplish from this activity is to ensure that the perpetrators are educated too on how to restrain and manage their anger and to resolve conflicts,” Dr. Poyotte asserted.
She said this initiative was important, “so that we can minimize gender-based violence, domestic violence and violence generally, in the country”, she added.
The gender affairs minister explained that this campaign is different from other such promotions, because “it is very comprehensive, we have quite a bit of effort put into this campaign. It is not a ‘lip service’ campaign and it actually reaches all corners in Saint Lucia …crossing generation gaps and it will be sustainable.”
Added Dr. Poyotte: “We are going to tackle it, hitting the heart of the education system and that is where we are going to change attitudes, behaviour and that takes time.
“And for you to change attitude and behaviour it must be sustainable. You must have the resources allocated to do that kind of work, to educate people and to provide opportunities for them to do things.”
Getting into the crux of the matter, with a wider social outreach project, she said, “We have our young persons …and we need to breed a new generation that will be anti-violence, anti-gender-based violence, anti-domestic violence and we have to help them to chant it, to understand it and to value it and to display that in their own behaviour.”
Commenting on the public education campaign, the minister explained that the gender department within her ministry has been working with “multiple partners” to get the message across. “As a result, they have been meeting with all the interested parties…because government as an entity cannot do much without the participation of the public. So, we bring the people together, we discuss and the take ownership of the project,” she said.
Dr. Poyotte added that the CSOs define their roles, and “so, we want all persons to come onboard, not just government and the French Embassy. We are going to open it up to reach out to the communities.”
Included in the movement, is a ‘16 days of activism’ campaign.
The Know Your Rights campaign will run for six months until June 2024.
French Ambassador His Excellency Francis Etienne noted that “it was rare to have a campaign using social network for a period of six months. We never had something as dynamic as this …and this is experimental, where we can register the reactions of the people.”
Debates on this subject will follow, he said, and “there will be people discussing within the communities and we are pushing for that. We see part of the democratic system anywhere, and certainly here, to raise awareness from the people on serious issues.”