Sexual violence rates in the Caribbean highest in the world – report

Lynn Rosenthal

By Oluatoyin Alleyne in Washington DC

One in every three women in the world experience or are exposed to gender-based violence and for this growing problem to be addressed holistically women must have economic empowerment, Chief of Staff of the US State Department Office of Global Women’s Issues, Anita Botti, says.

Botti, addressing a number of Caribbean journalists at the US State Department in Washington DC, quoted a World Bank report which stated that all of the Caribbean islands have higher rates of sexual violence than the rest of the world.

She however admitted that while gender-based violence is a big problem in the Caribbean it is not exclusive to this region.

Botti’s involvement with the State