16 days of activism for women to highlight gender-based violence

Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat releasing biodegradable helium balloons yesterday as they began ushering in the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. See story on page 15. (Terrence Thompson photo)

Sixteen days of global activism for the empowerment of women will begin tomorrow, with key priorities being the elimination of gender-based violence and fighting HIV/AIDs.

Encompassed within the 16 days of the UN Women programme are the Inter-national Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, World AIDS Day, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day and Human Rights Day.

This year’s observances have seen a first-time collaboration between the coordinating unit of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) and the Gender and Development Unit within the CARICOM Secretariat’s Directorate for Human and Social Development.