Three female members of the Upper House, the Senate, represented Antigua and
Barbuda at a regional meeting of parliamentarians which focused on issues
including gender equality.
The delegation comprised President of the Senate, Alincia Williams Grant, Senate
Minority Leader, Shawn Nicholas and Independent Senator, Kiz Johnson
participated in an exchange among Caribbean women parliamentarians and civil
society held in St Lucia. The multi-stakeholder dialogue was hosted by
ParlAmericas, the United Nations (UN) Women Multi-Country Office for the
Caribbean and the Parliament of Saint Lucia.
More than 20 Caribbean countries were represented in exploring issues
surrounding gender equality.
“Despite progress towards achieving gender parity, violence against women and
girls (VAWG) continues to surge across our Caribbean. It was noted that 46% of
women across the Caribbean have experienced at least one form of violence in
their lifetime. This has triggered long term psycho-social, economic and health
consequences with some cases ending in loss of life. The alarming statistic and
plethora of VAWG issues tabled and revealed during this multistakeholder
dialogue has encouraged and, in many instances, renewed the energy of our
Caribbean parliamentarians to continue fighting for gender equality,” a media
release from the parliamentarians noted.
Antigua and Barbuda’s three parliamentarians lent their voices and contributions to
the robust discourse. President of the Senate Williams Grant was a part of a panel
which explored avenues to promote gender equality and ending VAWG within and
through parliament. President Williams Grant advocated for more women entering
the political space to leverage this platform as one of way of having VAWG issues
addressed. She added that within the Antiguan and Barbudan Legislative structure,
the Youth Parliament, the Young Women in Leadership and the President’s 10
programmes have provided avenues for increased participation and voicing of
gender issues within a structured space.
The multi-stakeholder dialogue ended with a special session where
parliamentarians reviewed and made contributions to the joint statement, ‘Stronger
Together: Propelling Sustainable Development, Gender Equality and an end to
Violence against Women and Girls in the Caribbean.’
An exchange among representatives of Caribbean women’s parliamentary
caucuses was held. This gave participants the opportunity to report on the status of
the gender caucus committee in the respective parliaments and to identify areas for
strengthening.
The Network Antigua of Women’s Parliamentarians of Antigua and Barbuda
(gender caucus) was chartered in 2019.
