Caribbean Grassroots Women Economic Empowerment: Challenges, Achievements & implementation of SDGs Beyond 2030

Caribbean Grassroots Women Economic Empowerment: Challenges, Achievements & implementation of SDGs Beyond 2030.

Venue: Church Centre of UN                                     Wed, March 15   4:30-6 p.m.

Patricia Jaramillo, Mabel Bianco, Delores Robinson, Lana Finikin

   

This session included panelists from organizations the from the Caribbean region; see websites  http://www.mujeresafro.org, http://www.repem.org, and http://ngocswlac.org  . The panelists presented ideas around three themes: Latin American Caribbean women and their achievements, challenges and solutions to improve their lives, and the empowering process for them.

The first speaker stated that the poverty rate has been reduced in recent years among Caribbean women and specifically among rural women, indigenous women and young women. The second speaker addressed various challenges that Caribbean women are facing daily and how these challenges have blocked their way to empowerment.

·      Child pregnancy

o   Based on a research conducted by Latin American Committee in 12 countries in Caribbean areas: 12,000 girls under the age of 14 got pregnant due to sexual abuse

o   No way to improve the lives of these girls, low response and support of states

·      Violence against women

·      Gender inequality in securing rights to land and property

o   Women and unequal land ownership

·      Women’s access to secondary education and higher education

·      Unequal access to technology

·      Technology and violence against women

o   No proper legislative channel to support women who have been negatively impacted by human trafficking or sex trafficking.

The following solutions were addressed by each speaker:

·      Improve access to secondary and higher education for women

·      Improve quality of education for women

·      Promote advocacy for women’s and girl’s rights

·      Find the domestic and national resources to empower women

·      Address human and sex trafficking as serious issues which affect girls and women.

·      Promote information and advocacy programs that stress that the sex industry is not a safe business, improve resources to support the victims of this industry

·      Improve and invest in women’s contribution to agriculture

·      Advocate for political will and improve states’ contribution in women’s empowerment