Eighty seven pupils from the East Mucurapo and Mayaro Secondary Schools celebrated the culmination of one year of study focussing on Gender Based Violence in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Youth Stand Up Programme heightened the students’ awareness of Gender Based Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, and was organised by Families in Action in partnership with the First Citizens Foundation.
Chairman of the Advancement of Women Committee of the First Citizens Foundation, Dr. Jennifer Jones-Morales, applauded the students for sticking with the Programme.
“Right here at home in Trinidad and Tobago, the data show that 44% of ever partnered women experience intimate partner violence, which, as you know by now, is greater that the global average.”
Dr. Jones-Morales further shared some recent figures on Gender Based Violence in Trinidad and Tobago.
“In the first two weeks of last month, in October, at least four women lost their lives to domestic abuse, and this was taken from the Guardian newspapers of October 24th, 2024, and these tragedies have struck a national chord, as you may know, because we have 28 deaths of Gender Based Violence to women from January to October 2024.”
Chief Executive Officer of Families in Action, Dionne Guischard, put the figures into context: “We have about 700,000 women and girls in Trinidad and Tobago. What does one in three mean? It means over 200,000 women and girls experiencing some form of Gender Based Violence, possibly.”
In addition to raising their awareness, the Youth Stand Up Programme taught the students how to build healthy relationships and gave tools on how to advocate for themselves and others.