Tuesday, November 24 – Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC is encouraging men to be flexible towards a new “Partnership for Peace (PFP): A Domestic Violence Intervention Programme” that will soon be implemented.
She made the call at the opening of a November 23-27 Training of Trainers Workshop, which is being conducted by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Ministry of Health and Social Development and the Office of Gender Affairs.
Honourable Penn told the Territory’s men to view the programme for what it is, adding that the initiative will benefit families and the Territory as a whole.
The Minister also restated the Government’s policy to promote gender equality and empower women, which is one of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. “It is part of the Ministry’s remit to seek to implement all of the Millennium Development Goals, and today is clear evidence of the sustained efforts of the active steps we are taking to help in realising this very important Millennium Development Goal,” she noted.
This week’s training is being facilitated by a team of UNIFEM consultants, which includes Mrs. Leah Odle-Benson who spoke at the opening ceremony. Mrs. Odle-Benson described the Partnership for Peace Programme as a ‘flagship’ project under UNIFEM’s programme aimed at reducing violence against women.
The UNIFEM representative described violence against women as an epidemic in the Caribbean, and added that UNIFEM’s statistics revealed that one in every six women will be a victim of either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
“The figures are truly astounding. Violence against women is one of the few epidemics that disregards class or race and spreads across all boundaries”, she noted. Attendees at yesterday’s opening included Territorial-at-Large Representative Honourable Irene Penn-O’Neal.
Among other things this week’s training will cover the definitions of domestic violence, the impact of family violence on children and youth, and the impact of family violence on women. It will also cover the goals of the Partnership for Peace Programme, including the programme’s description, and guiding principles.
Trainers have been recruited from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental agencies. A UNIFEM team visited the Territory last month as part of efforts to introduce Partnership for Peace. Government plans to introduce the programme in 2010. This week’s Training of Trainers Workshop is the first of several training sessions for persons who were selected to be facilitators of the local programme.
The Ministry of Health and Social Development aspires to provide leadership that promotes health, social wellbeing, and a safe environment as positive resources for living and sustainable development of the Territory.
British Virgin Islands News