#IWD2017: Gender-based violence still a concern
Below is a statement from The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017.
THE Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation is the government agency with the mandate to provide continuing education for adolescent mothers. The socio-economic reality of the young mothers put them at risk for societal ills, inclusive of gender-based violence (GBV).
The general thrust of the WCJF therefore is to advance education as the vehicle by which the adolescent mothers will be empowered to make informed decisions; become financially independent; break the cycle of poverty; escape the incidence of domestic violence; make a worthwhile contribution to their communities; and find their places within the wider society.
IWD strategically places itself within the ambits of the work of the WCJF, where it provides the platform from which to focus the attention of the adolescent mothers on significant matters relative to women who occupy national and international places of positive influence. There is no doubt that, in examining the stories of these women, the eyes of the adolescent mothers will be opened to what can possibly be their future reality, in spite of their present circumstances.
To commemorate IWD each year, the WCJF centres and outreach stations engage the young mothers in activities which include courtesy calls on women of influence within the local communities; creation of information boards about the contribution that women have made, and continue to make towards international agenda; and creation of personal vision boards on which the adolescent mothers chart a positive course for their own lives.
For IWD 2017, the WCJF has located its activities within the mindset of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, which is one of advocacy, in light of the current upsurge of gender-based violence. The WCJF will, therefore, seize the moment to partner with other government and non-government entities to engage the adolescent mothers and parents in empowerment sessions which have been planned around the national theme, “Unite to end GBV”.
