By Robert Andre Emmanuel
Integrated Health Outreach (IHO) and the Directorate of Gender Affairs announced plans to construct a women’s shelter that will combine emergency housing with the ability to generate income through beekeeping to address gender-based violence in Antigua and Barbuda.
The initiative, presented during a joint press conference, will provide support services while generating funding through honey production and export.
IHO Executive Director Dr Nicola Bird cited statistics showing that 46 percent of Caribbean women experience gender-based violence, significantly higher than the global average of one in three.
“Violence affects all of us. It has serious repercussions, social repercussions, not just private. It affects us economically when women can’t work and can’t turn up to work,” Bird explained.
The IHO team has already trained 60 women as beekeepers, with regional companies committing to purchase honey products.
IHO Board Treasurer Louis Rivera said the Home Advancement Programme for the Indigent (HAPI) has pledged construction support once suitable land is secured through the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture.
“We decided to see if we could come up with something that is long term and sustainable. It’s not just about a place for victims of violence to go, but developing those people and their children so they can take care of themselves moving forward,” Rivera said.
The head of the Youth Intervention Unit of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda (RPFAB) Inspector Claudina Nathaniel-Morgan discussed the intergenerational impact of domestic violence on children.
“Any child who would have experienced or grown up in a home where there is domestic violence is affected, and often long term,” she said.
“Children learn from what they see, they start normalising it, thinking it’s okay to be violent, okay to be aggressive,” Inspector Morgan added.
The shelter initiative will be featured during the Men and Women United: Stop Gender-Based Violence 5K Walk scheduled for March 8 at the Botanical Gardens.
Last year’s walk drew more than 1,000 participants, with organizers aiming to double that number this year.
A similar awareness walk will be held in Barbuda on March 15, part of efforts to ensure support services reach both islands.
Meanwhile, Director of Gender Affairs Jamie Saunders said current emergency accommodation services for young women and girls needs expansion.
“We need a more robust structural approach. This is something that is working towards the goal of creating a safer society, particularly for vulnerable groups,” he said.
Saunders also acknowledged the need for improved services in Barbuda, noting that while hotline and remote services are available, a more structural approach is needed.
A local survey of 120 people conducted in 2019 showed approximately 50 percent of women had experienced physical or sexual abuse, aligning with regional statistics.
The Caribbean has one of the highest rates of sexual violence per capita globally, with three regional countries ranking among the top 10 worldwide.
The shelter will provide rehabilitation services and skills training to help women become financially independent.
Dr Bird noted that financial dependency often forces women to return to abusive situations.
“Oftentimes what leaves women vulnerable in these positions is the inability to provide for their families. The financial resources cause them to have to return to the circumstances,” she said.
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