The Cabinet is to shortly receive the findings of the study entitled ‘The Economic Cost of Violence against Women’, the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange has said.

“This study was commissioned by the UN Women and highlights the importance of ending violence against women and girls with legislation, plans and programmes,” said Grange.

She was speaking recently in the House of Representatives where she formally announced that establishment of a Bi-Cameral Caucus of Women Parliamentarians. The minister said the study was also looked at the need to allocate the necessary budgetary support to fund initiatives to address violence against women and girls, and to provide quality essential services to survivors and their children.

Women parliamentarians on both sides of the political divide, in both the House and the Senate, held a recent retreat that signed off on the parameters of the caucus.

“As reflected in the joint statement coming out of our retreat in Ocho Rios, St. Ann… we are prepared to work together, regardless of partisan lines. We are committed to creating a space for the deliberation of women’s rights, for lobbying for the social and economic improvement of our women, and for the promotion of a society in which women and girls are protected,” Grange told the House.

She said that one of the concerns of the caucus that was addressed at the retreat that was held from December 3-4, is that of domestic violence, which she noted has left a stain on gender relations over the years.

“Violence against women and girls has had injurious effects on the society,” said Grange.

“The direct costs include funding health, the police, the courts, shelter, counselling and legal aid services and indirect costs related to loss of income due to missed work, and missed school days, lost time on the labour market, lost productivity and earnings, consumption loss, as well as pain and suffering, and lost quality of life,” Grange added.

She said the caucus has already yielded outcomes, with the following objectives signed off on:

1. Facilitate networking, build solidarity, and promote constructive dialogue on issues of importance among women parliamentarians across party lines and chambers;

2. Provide caucus members with professional development opportunities to further strengthen their leadership and their capacities to participate in the legislative process in a gender-responsive manner;

3. Raise awareness on gender equality and the importance of women’s leadership among all parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, as well as among the general public, including by raising the visibility of women leaders in all spheres and sectors of society;

4. Support capacity building across the Parliament in gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting and costing, and to encourage the application of these tools in parliamentary work;

5. Undertake reviews of select legislation from a gender perspective to understand their impact on gender equality themes or with differential impacts on individuals of different genders;

6. Engage in advocacy and lobbying on specific priority policy themes to be identified on a periodic basis in accordance with national needs and outlined in the caucus’ work plan.