1. Success Story: “Community Animator collaborating with local non-profit
organization to combat violence against women.”
CHALLENGE
Regional studies on the prevalence of Domestic Violence (DV) against women
have raised many concerns over how local governments are addressing what appears
to be a growing issue in many islands, in particular Grenada. Despite the lack of
consolidated statistics on the prevalence of DV on island, according to organizations
such as the Legal Aid and Counseling Clinic (LACC), an NGO that does widespread
work in the area of DV, approximately 40% of their caseloads are directly linked to
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Additionally, the Ministry of Social Development
has reported that on a monthly average they see 10 victims. However, the availability
of data on DV from the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is not disaggregated and
accordingly many stations can only report on categories of criminal offences as
defined by the Criminal Code. These would include such offences as: assault; causing
harm; threaten death; wounding; causing death; attempt murder and murder.
INITIATIVE
In January 2001 the following OECS states Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda,
British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos Islands took on the challenge
of a Family Law & Domestic Violence Legal & Judicial Reform Project. The prime
purpose of this project was to bring existing legislation in line with the provisions of
the following conventions: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women formerly known as the
“Convention of Belem do Para.”
Since then the Grenada National Organization of Women (GNOW), an
umbrella non-profit body for women’s groups on island, has been actively involved in
steering the Domestic Violence (DV) legal and judicial reform component of this
project. In April 2010 GNOW in collaboration with the Ministry of Social
Development commissioned the National Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse
Protocol, which was approved by the Cabinet of Grenada on 10th January, 2011. The
first of its kind the protocol is a resource document that is intended to aid professionals
with the management of domestic violence and sexual assault cases.
Following this achievement, in 2011 the Ministry of Social Development
(MoSD) was awarded a three-year grant fund from the UN Trust Fund to End
Violence against Women to implement a “State Response to end Violence against
Women: Legislative and Policy Reform Implementation Programme.” Succeeding
this achievement was the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act, 2011, an
amendment to the former DV Act, 2001. As a co-implementing partner to this
program GNOW was responsible for conceiving a national awareness campaign.

2. Caribbean HIV/AIDS Alliance (CHAA) Community Animator KizzyAnn Abraham
assisted GNOW tremendously in year two of this project, by encouraging the
organization to utilize her creative idea for a “Speak Out” poster and photography
exhibition on domestic and sexual abuse, as a national awareness campaign.
RESULTS
The “Speak Out” exhibition received national recognition for its innovative
approach to awareness campaigning. “Speak Out” is an exhibition of statements
collected from Grenadian victims of gender-based violence - domestic abuse, sexual
assault & child sexual abuse and reenacted photographic stills created by youth
volunteers. The project was launched on the 8th March, 2012 (International Women's
Day) and showcased as a national exhibit from 24th Oct - 10th Dec, 2012. Special
invitations were extended to the following groups - men’s, women’s, church, school,
private/public sector, and college/university - to attend informational sessions hosted
throughout the duration of the exhibition. Topics covered during the informational
sessions touched on issues related to how the church can be a positive support group
for victims and perpetrators, understanding sexual harassment in the workplace, peer-
to-peer violence. Speaking with Community Animator KizzyAnn Abraham she says
that putting the entire exhibit together was not only a way to show case the realities of
victims, but also an opportunity to create an environment where the community could
come together to find common ground. This she believes was the most successful
achievement of the exhibition, considering the silence that continues to circulate
around DV, and child sexual abuse.