Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BACKGROUND OF THE REPORT

ABBREVIATIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE - ACHIEVEMENTS

CHAPTER TWO - CONSTRAINTS - SOCIO - ECONOMIC

CHAPTER THREE - CONSTRAINTS - SOCIO - CULTURAL

CHAPTER FOUR - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDIX 1 : PRESENTATION BY CAFRA TO THE ECLAC/CDCC THIRD CARIBBEAN MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

APPENDIX 11: QUESTIONNAIRE

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Definitions

Gender

A socially constructed definition of women and men and a socially constructed definition of the relationship between the sexes. It is a social design of biological sex, determined by the conception of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life. The construction and reproduction of gender takes place at the individual as well as the societal level.

Gender Equality

Accepting and valuing equally the differences between women and men and the diverse roles they play in society. It means taking into account the existing differences among women and men which are related to class, political opinion, religion, ethnicity, race or sexual orientation. It means discussing how it is possible to go further, to change the structures in society which contribute to maintaining the unequal power relationships between women and men.

Gender Analysis

An important part of a comprehensive social /economic analysis of public policy. It takes into account social and economic differences between women and men at every stage of policy development to ensure that:

• potential differential impacts of policies, programs and legislation on women and men are discovered; and
• existing and proposed policies have intended and equitable results for women and men, boys and girls (Government of Canada. Gender-based Analysis Back grounder. March 1997.Women’s Bureau, Strategic Policy Branch.)
  
  

Background

The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) is a regional network of feminists, individual researchers, activists and women=s organisations. CAFRA’s membership spans the English, French, Dutch and Spanish speaking Caribbean. CAFRA serves as a facilitator of the regional women’s movement. The organisation responds to the needs of the movement and encourages regional collaboration and solidarity. CAFRA was the Caribbean Subregional NGO focal point for the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, in September, 1995. It remains the focal point for follow-up activities.

"Non Government Organisations should be encouraged to contribute to the design and implementation of the strategies or national action plans. They Should be encouraged to develop their own programmes to complement government efforts."

Beijing Platform for Action. Para. 298.

In 1996, as a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) and in accordance with paragraph 298 of the Platform for Action (PfA), CAFRA convened a conference of major stakeholders in the region to develop a regional Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) plan of action. The impact of the geopolitics of the region on the functioning of the women’s [1] movement and interalia, the implementation of the PfA was among the primary concerns.

The conference agreed to three core strategies for effective NGO action:

• partnership-building
• institutional strengthening and
• resource mobilisation

Consensus was also reached on areas of collaboration for popularizing and communicating on the PfA across the region.

Since that time CAFRA has increased its commitment to sharing information with a broad base of partners. CAFRA has also strategised to monitor regional and national policies, with a view to protecting the economic, political and social rights of women. CAFRA has conducted workshops in advocacy and lobbying strategies for dissemination of information on the Beijing Platform for Action. In 1999, it conducted a workshop for young women to train them in political activism.

The background to this initiative by CAFRA, an alternative report on the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (PfA) in the Caribbean, therefore derives primarily from CAFRA’s commitment to an articulation of feminist perspectives and approaches for advancing women’s interests in the region. Secondly, CAFRA=s programme of communication across the region since the Beijing Conference, including its role in facilitating the participation of women from non-independent territories in regional processes, set the basis for reporting on the implementation process during the last five years.

This report was prepared by CAFRA for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session: Women 2000 in New York, June 2000. The report presents the findings of a review of the mechanisms and resources used in implementing actions within the PfA as these relate to the critical issues facing women of the Caribbean and highlights the contributions of women’s organisations and other NGOs to the process.

Abbreviations

CAFRA :

• Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action

CARIWA :

• Caribbean Women=s Association

CPDC:

• Caribbean Policy Development Centre

DAW :

• Division for the Advancement of Women

DAWN :

• Development Alternatives for Women for a New Era

FWCW :

• Fourth World Conference on Women

ICPD :

• International Conference for Population and Development

ICPD POA :

• Programme of Action of the ICPD

Beijing PFA :

• Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women

NGO :

• Non Governmental Organisation

UNFPA :

• United Nations Population Fund

UNIFEM :

• United Nations Fund for Women

WTO :

• World Trade Organisation

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Executive Summary

In June 2000, the United Nations General Assembly convenes to review the implementation of the Platform for Action (PfA) adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women(FWCW) in Beijing, China, September, 1995. There is evidence of success in implementing the strategic the goals of the PfA. There have also been many constraints to achieving these goals.

In the Caribbean, assessment of countrie’s performance on implementing the goals of the PfA must be placed against a backdrop of the region=s geopolitical and historical diversity. The report acknowledges this diversity and further suggests that this it presented both opportunities and challenges to establishing rights-based approaches in the pursuit of gender equity. For example, within the region CARICOM member states have increased efforts towards the establishment of a single market and economy. This has noteable gender implications for human resource development and the movement of male and female waged workers. The words of Anna Rivera Lassen of Puerto Rico, capture the isolation experienced by women in the non-independent countries of the region in their attempts to work autonomously and collectively on issues facing them: [2]

"The women of (these) territories ...know what is the situation of the economies of dependency, precisely from being from countries with economies that are dependent on the most powerful nation(s) in the world. On the other hand, this also brings a premise of isolation. (This) defines the situation of women of the non-independent countries viz-a viz the metropolis but also, this region. We are not included in many occasions in the history of the movements of Latin America and the Caribbean. We are not spoken about because we are not considered. We are obviously not involved in the history of the movements of France, Holland , the United States nor England. The women of the non-independent states cannot be in those stories".

The extent of the achievements between 1995 and 2000 has proven difficult to measure in the absence of national or regional plans with time bound targets. Few governments reported on gender equality outcomes aligned to goals of economic and social development, demonstrating that overall, "gender" has not yet been fully integrated into the core of government thinking or in development planning in a comprehensive way [3] . Governments reported on programmatic responses to various conditions of women at the local level, on donor driven programmes, on outreach programmes of academic institutions, on lobbies and advocacy programmes of international development agencies on women=s and children’s rights. However, there were policy shifts to address gender inequities in health, social security, training, labour and violence against women.

Since the decade of the eighties, the Caribbean has been caught in an unprecedented global economic crisis. Macroeconomic indicators showed slow improvement in economic growth rate since 1995 [4] with economic performance being better in some countries than others Economic reform intensified in the region since the early nineties to meet global demands for competitiveness. The report notes evidence of an increase in pockets of the populations being marginalised from the benefits of economic growth [5].

With the intensification of state modernisation programmes, there was some destablization of the position of women workers, a significant percentage of the state labour force. There is also growing evidence that reforms in the health sector need to be complemented by institutional and social policies to increase women caregivers and providers of health care with better access to services - for themselves and their families. It was also found that in reorienting economic strategies to respond to the demands of the global market, disparities grew between urban and rural communities in their access to other basic services such as employment. Women in these communities faced greater challenges [6].

Findings of an NGO research project on the impact of Lome 1V in the Caribbean showed that the current convention had no specific commitment to gender equality and would contribute to the distress experienced by poor households, many of which were headed by women. In fact the convention had not integrated gender analysis into trade policy, in examining the effects of Lome preferences or in the granting of risk capital [7].

The report also noted that there was significant waning of political will. Despite endorsements of proposals for gender main streaming by Ministers with Responsibility for Women’s Affairs in 1997, only two countries established the comprehensive frameworks for doing so at the time of this review [8]. The region reported a shortfall in human and financial resources leading to severe limitations in formulating pro-active policy approaches to the inequities faced by women. It was also found that there were difficulties in implementing on-going programmes that addressed women=s needs. In the Dominican Republic, a country in which one third of poor households are headed by poor women, 0.2% of the total government budget was given to the work of the Women’s Machinery in 1998 [9]. Worse situations were revealed in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados for that year [10].

The challenge of these five years was therefore to test existing public policies, modify them and refine them during implementation [11]. This report recognises the commitment of women of the Caribbean to equitable gender relations and women’s empowerment [12]. However, the report noted that there is minimal acknowledgement of gender equality as a guiding principle of development in the region, suggesting that most official pronouncements on the issue are still mainly in the realm of rhetoric. Consequently, NGOs have been pivotal in validating women=s experiences in public spaces, and in advocacy efforts to influence the design of implementation strategies.

The report noted conceptual challenges to how women=s interests were being defined and the relationship between this and the institutional responses and strategies adopted for addressing these issues. It also highlighted the effects of political, social and economic factors on institutional approaches and on the mobilization of resources.

The report concludes that the strong tradition of collaboration between NGOs and the state in the Caribbean, and the dedication of the women’s movement were critical factors that enabled many countries of the region to act on their Beijing commitments.

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Introduction

The FWCW provided the opportunity to reveal inequalities women face in their societies and to place these on the public policy agenda. Described as a "watershed moment" for the global women’s movement [13] , the conference was not only a fight for rights, but for the recognition of those rights.

Since 1995, several policies and strategies have been formulated to improve gender equality in the following priority areas in the Caribbean:

• poverty, particularly among women heading households
• access to decision making
• violence against women and women’s rights
• institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

While regional consensus was reached on these broad themes, national level priorities were shaped by social, economic, political and geographic realities. Considerations were given to the prevailing conditions of women and their families, experiences of women of different population groups, and the capacity of institutions responsible for women=s empowerment. Issues of race, autonomy and diversity were interwoven with the broader issues at the national level. A range of unique country plans were developed.

This report sought to review the progress made towards the achievement of the goals of the PfA in those critical areas identified by the Caribbean. It centres on the core strategies for effective implementation as articulated by the region’s NGOs and on the following questions. What mechanisms have been adopted since the Beijing Conference? What partnerships have been developed? What are the emerging issues? What proposals can be made to governments to advance achievement of the goals of the Beijing PfA beyond the year 2000?

Purpose and methodology:

The purpose of the report was to provide a Caribbean NGO perspective on the extent to which human, technical and financial resources have been used in implementing the Platform for Action, relating to critical issues facing the region’s women [14].

The report is largely based on responses to a questionnaire by key non-governmental organisations and individuals from various sectors, involved with the implementation of the PfA. They were drawn from 16 countries of the Spanish, English, French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean and asked to assess the mechanisms and resources used since 1995.

Throughout the Caribbean, women’s NGOs have been active in the implementation of the PfA. They have brought women’s concerns of difference, diversity, and vulnerability to the centre of policy dialogue. They have kept up their interrogation of the state in respect of the administration of justice. They have challenged the state on its commitment of financial resources, formed alliances to engender the budgetary process and provided gender analyses to guide macroeconomic planning.

In light of this, NGOs in the countries surveyed were asked to provide information on mechanisms and resources used to advance the commitments of Beijing. Prior to designing the questionnaire, CAFRA conducted a focus group discussion at the Holiday Inn, Trinidad. Present were participants from Barbados, St. Vincent, Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Surinam, St. Lucia and the Bahamas. CAFRA’s list -serve, "Women’s Notes", was established and was used to circulate the questionnaire to national and regional organisations and experts. Secondary sources used included annual reports of organisations, reports of meetings, and statistical reports. The draft report was also circulated before the preparation of final report.

This process was strengthened by interviews conducted at meetings of the regional NGOs - CPDC and CARIWA.

This report therefore explores the status of implementation plans in major areas facing women in the region. Emphasis is placed on the importance of political will and partnerships with civil society, to advance towards the goals of the PfA. The conclusions and recommendations reaffirm the need for open dialogue with a broad base of partners in reshaping the agenda beyond the year 2000.

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Chapter One

The PfA defines an approach to development that places women=s empowerment and the achievement of gender equality at the core of policies and plans. While this represented a shift in the development discourse, it also reinforced the emphases of earlier consensus agreements of global conferences of the decade. The text of the PfA emphasized structural and institutional reform and the commitment of adequate levels of resources. The Chapter presents an overview of the achievements of governments, NGOs and other stakeholders to advance the goals of the PfA over the five years.

As a prelude to describing some of the achievements of the five year period, this section gives snapshots of activities which were significant in the way they brought women together to - build institutional capacity, research issues not yet on the public policy agenda, and work collaboratively in advocacy and in monitoring the implementation of PfA. Equally exciting and ground-breaking activities are also described in other parts of this report.

Transforming Women’s Leadership:

CAFRA on behalf of UNIFEM and HIVOS organised a two-day workshop: "Challenges and Perspectives for Women’s Leadership" in December 1998 to strengthen the leadership capacity of women’s NGOs [15]. This workshop brought together women’s organisations to explore organisational problems experienced by NGOs and identify strategies to improve leadership sustain ability and accountability. The two-day workshop also provided participants with increased awareness of the history of women’s organisations and encouraged commitment to research and documentation and increased institutional links to provide for the training needs of women’s organisation.

Strengthening Women’s Agency:

Concerns about the rapidity and ease with which new forms of prostitution were becoming embedded in Caribbean societies stimulated feminists in the region to engage in a collaborative region-wide research project. The three year long project, conducted in eight countries [16] involved Red Thread in Guyana, the Institituto Mujer Genero in Puerto Rico, the Stichting maxi Linder Association for Sex Workers in Surinam, the Centre for Gender and Development Studies in Jamaica and CAFRA. Sex workers were positioned as having their own agency and subjectivity. The study therefore not only presented extensive analyses and testimonies by sex workers themselves, but documents arenas of their lives which were previously obscure in the public policy dialogue [17].

Collaboration in Monitoring

A Subregional Ministerial Conference, Georgetown, Guyana was held jointly by CARICOM/UNECLAC/UNIFEM in August 1997 to review government’s progress in the region since the FWCW and examine the needs of member states in their pursuit of the implementation of the PfA. Participants at the meeting included governments, intergovernmetnal institutions, development agencies, United Nations agencies and Nongovernmental Organisations. The meeting noted the policy shifts and programmes of member states and discussed the implementation of the CARICOM Subregional Plan of Action . It endorsed proposals for increasing women’s access to decision-making and for gender main-streaming in those sectors targeted for poverty eradication [18]. Touching on the resistance to the use of gender main streaming methodologies, the meeting also noted that countries lacked the machinery to implement or enforce their use at the national level. Six strategic actions were recommended, including (1) that Central Statistical Offices in each country be encouraged to generate data to be used in the formulation of gender specific indicators, and (2) that a pilot programme on the application of gender planning be designed, with specific focus on poverty eradication.

NGOs participated in the ECLAC/CDCC Third Subregional Ministerial meeting held in Port of Spain, October, 1999. The focus of the meeting was to review governments’implementation of the PfA. The presentation to the meeting by CAFRA, regional NGO focal point for the FWCW follow-up [19], was integral to the formulation of the Subregional Outcomes Document - the Port of Spain Consensus.

Networking Across Borders:

Caribbean Region held its first Vital Voices Meeting in 1998. Held with support of CAFRA, UNIFEM and the United States Information Service, Trinidad, the meeting brought together women decision-makers from varied backgrounds to assess, from very practical perspectives, the situation in women’s lives across sectors such as labour, education and training, politics, trade and macroeconomics and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The current threats to economic justice which accompany globalization were discussed . The policies, laws and programmes which were still in need of substantial change in order to reduce the gender inequities women face at home, in the community and in the society were also identified. Ground-breaking initiatives were described, such as those which fostered women=s political and sexual rights in Surinam, others which interrogated the state in respect of women’s economic rights, and those which aimed to transform the legal system to enable freer movement of women within and across borders within the region.

The 15th Biennial Conference of CARIWA was held in St. Kitts in April, 2000. CARIWA is a regional network of women’s associations whose focus is to strengthen women in decision-making. This year’s conference was geared towards strategic planning, capturing the momentum of the Beijing +5 Review.

1.1 Mechanims

The Platform provided direction to the creation of institutional mechanisms for advancing the goals of women’s empowerment and gender equality (See box below). Except for Montserrat, all countries reported on having an established women’s bureaux [20]. [21] The focus on "name changes" of these bureaux from women’s affairs to gender affairs was a mechanism reported by governments as a strategy for promoting the shift from Women in Development (WID) to Gender and Development (GAD). While in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, the women’s movement and the Centres for Gender and Development Studies (CGDS) at the University of the West Indies, showed little appreciation for this new initiative (indicating that there was no proper analysis done to support the possible implications of the name change), the CGDS in Barbados recommended that the Bureau be rather upgraded to a Department with all the relevant structures for effective performance. The trend, however, continued throughout the region.

Throughout the Caribbean there was increased momentum in the development of national and sectoral gender plans, establishment of advisory councils; expansion of programmes of the University of the West Indies;

Guidelines for Institutional Mechanisms
"Based on a strong political commitment, create a national machinery, where it does not exist, and strengthen, as appropriate, existing national machineries, for the advancement of women a the highest possible level of government; it should have clearly defined mandates and authority; critical elements would be adequate resources and the ability and competence to influence policy and formulate and review legislation, among other things, it should perform policy analysis, undertake advocacy, communication,coordinationandmonitoringofimplementation.
Beijing PfA para. 203(b)

outreach programmes of the women’s bureaux, improvement in laws and gender statistics; development of gender training programmes and institutional strengthening of key sectoral partners.

1.1.1. Plans of Action

In 1996, following regional consultations among major stakeholders, the CARICOM Regional Plan of Action on Gender and Development to the Year 2000 was developed and endorsed by member states of CARICOM and women of the region. This directional plan gave strategic guidance to national, regional and international partners in the development and implementation of gender strategies in critical areas of inequity between women and men. A regional strategy targeted at mobilising resources and building institutional capacity was also developed.

Most countries in the region are signatories to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The process of reporting on compliance with the Convention drew clear benefits in some countries. One benefit was the opportunity to increase advocacy on articles of the Convention. Another benefit was that gender equality gained prominence and, as was the case in Guyana, was ranked among the essential components of constitutional and legal reform.

As part of the initiatives for implementing the Beijing PfA, governments reported on having developed action plans, or more detailed policy statements on women. In Belize, a comprehensive national strategic plan was developed through broad-based consultation with women’s organisations and other partners. In St. Kitts a gender management system was established. This was designed to improve sectoral and interagency implementation and monitoring of its national plan. The Bureaux of Women’s Affairs is pivotal to this system.

Civil society also played a key role in defining the scope and direction of national plans, policies and programmes. Though challenged by the inevitable tension between the state agenda and an NGO agenda, NGOs participated as "full members" in the planning process in some countries. This occurred in Belize, where civil society assisted in determining the priorities and targets of the national plan.

1.1.2. Commissions, Councils, Task forces

Other mechanisms developed over the five year period included the establishment of national commissions, national councils and issue-based task forces. These bodies were cabinet appointed in many countries, with members selected on the basis of their research capacity, technical expertise in a particular development sector and their advocacy work with women. The tasks of these bodies ranged from the development of law and advocacy programs for the justice system, the creation of Ministries of Women’s Affairs, preparing policy documents on gender equality issues to influence public policy and constitutional reform, creation of new and enhanced legal agendas for women=s empowerment, and research on domestic violence. Despite difficulties in the political environment, the models used in the Dominican Republic and Surinam had interesting results. (See Boxes below).

Building Transparent Institutional Mechanism: The Dominican Republic
The women’s movement in the Dominican Republic has lobbied the State for non-patriarchal procedures in the quest for peace and for integrated strategies in relation to violence The movement was successful in its lobby for the establishment of a state institution ( the Bureau) to represent and monitor women’s interests . The Bureau allows space for clearly defined activities of the movement. These included: articulating women’s situations to the state, promoting gender equality through critical analysis, and strengthening mechanisms that promote dialogue on social justice and human rights Working from its own spaces, the movement has been successful in forming partnerships within the wider society for reducing violence against women within the wider society.
Interview with women advocates of The Dominican Republic

Building Transparent Institutional Mechanism: Surinam
After national elections in 1996, the new government installed a feedback group on gender policy, consisting of women’s organisations and women active in the leading political party. This group communicated directly with the President. With the start of an institutional strengthening programme of the Bureau in 1998, a technical advisory board was installed, consisting of NGO and government sector experts. This board also acts as policy adviser to the Government on matters of specific request. An NGO Advisory Committee and an Interdepartmental Advisory Board have been proposed . The Women’s Bureau was renamed the Gender Bureau in 1998, with the mandate to coordinate and promote gender equality.
Report of the Surinam Women’s Movement

1.1.3. Role of Academia

Another visible advance in the region has been the positive impact of academic and research institutions in providing an arena for critical thinking on gender ideologies and the gender implications of development strategies. The programmes of these institutions have also been avenues for distilling gender concepts and strengthening the human resource capacity needed for implementing gender policy objectives across all sectors.

Academic institutions were particularly resourceful in identifying gender gaps as they emerged within reform programmes in health and education. In this regard, the Health Economics Unit of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, provided useful analyses to assist in identifying gender biases in current health financing. There has also been a welcome expansion of training and research programmes of the Centres for Gender and Development Studies, University of the West Indies and the University of Guyana. These have grown to accommodate the expanding needs of stakeholders in the region. The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre conducted programs for health professionals to strengthen their capacity to monitor and respond to the gender dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic - a shift now crucial to understanding the pattern of infection in the region.

1.1.4. Partnership Building

Women activists in the Caribbean defined a feminist vision to guide the implementation of the PfA. This vision fuelled the relentless work in advocacy, policy dialogue monitoring and documentation of women’s situations in new areas of concern over the last five years.

As an overall approach to equity and accountability, NGOs formed partnerships with governments. All countries reported positively on such partnerships in addressing Caribbean priorities. Questions did arise on the conditions that existed in these partnerships. What were the existing power relations? What were the conditions that increased the effectiveness of the activity?

Women’s organisations often brought their experiences of working with local groups in villages and churches to these partnerships. Local groups provided information on women’s experiences of difference, diversity and vulnerability at the grass roots level. These partnerships therefore presented opportunities for the lives of the voiceless, such as indigenous women, women with disabilities, domestic workers and women sex workers, to be described in higher fora of decision making. In doing so, these initiatives often resulted in the reshaping of laws and public policies.

NGOs played a crucial role in raising awareness of gender inequities of the market. In Surinam, the Women’s Business Group, in partnership with the State, facilitated micro-enterprise training programmes. These programmes were specially designed to take account of women’s special needs.

The quest to reduce violence against women and children gained momentum during the five year period. The issue has evoked passionate responses from the state and women alike. State responses were all but futile in reducing the levels of violence. Having successfully lobbied for legal reform, women’s NGOs made considerable inroads into addressing deep-rooted resistance to the issue by building strategic alliances with other NGOs and stakeholders. Some of the initiatives reported included: joint peace - promoting activities conducted by the Caribbean Council of Churches, the Caribbean Human Rights Agency and the Women’s Forum of Barbados on the theme "Violence and Conflict Resolution". Women Working for Social Progress (WWSP) in Trinidad and Tobago developed a national lobby for the removal of corporal punishment. Working through a multi-agency task force of citizens committed to Anot hitting children@ and the media, the organization formulated policy approaches for the education system as a first step in a national strategy to empower children, women and men against violence. NGOs also worked collaboratively across the region in the UNIFEM sponsored "Life Free of Violence Campaig". The interagency campaign built new link across sectors and strengthened old ones. It promoted public debate on violence using the women=s human rights framework.

The goals of these partnerships were mutually reinforcing to all partners. Each partner played its role and derived strength from the process. Since this issue is embedded in deep-rooted resistance, success was measured when new ground was broken!

In addressing issues of women’s economic rights women engaged in extensive regional and local networking to build awareness and confidence. The question has been asked: "What good are women’s economic rights if women donot have the will to assert them?" Actions were aimed at helping women understand and use law and policy - instruments designed to help them. The Women’s Issues Network of Belize campaigned for the creation of a single minimum wage across the board for women and men workers. The Jamaica Household Workers Association, BOWAND in Belize and the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) of Trinidad, having developed a regional plan of action for Domestic Workers, advocated at the national level for fair labour standards and practice for house hold workers. Following institutional strengthening activities, NUDE increased its local lobby for collective bargaining for low income workers. The organisation placed much emphasis on greater law enforcement in respect of the Minimum Wage Act.

In the area of research, women’s organisations collaborated with international development agencies to yield useful data on emerging and difficult issues such as trade [22] and sexual and reproductive health. In Surinam, the Stichting Maxi Linder conducted a participatory research project on sex workers in the gold mines of Surinam and linked economic development to the exploitation of women [23] . The research findings provided a wealth of practical suggestions for the empowerment of sex workers and now inform strategies to address the health and social needs of these women in Surinam.

Other partnerships included coalitions of NGOs. Some coalitions represented a single interest, as in the case of the Jamaican Political Caucus and the Women’s Parliamentary Forum in Surinam. Both sought to increase women’s political participation.

During the period under review, women’s NGOs identified new political spaces, fostered new strategic partnerships and coalitions with NGO partners, the state, development agencies, and the private sector, and were pivotal in: (1) broadening the debate on gender and women’s empowerment (2) providing analyses for targeting resources for alternative strategies to improve the quality of life of women and men in communities. As an overall forward looking strategy, it would seem important that Women’s NGOs lobby to be part of all strategic planning activities for implementation measures in the region beyond the year 2000. Furthermore, it would seem necessary that strategic planning processes must start from redefining critical issues and incorporate systems for monitoring at the NGO and grassroots level.

Women and Trade
Trade grew in significance in its potential and actual impact on the lives of women in the Caribbean. CAFRA led several critical advocacy initiatives in this area.
CAFRA in collaboration with Women In Development Europe (WIDE) developed a position paper on the future of EU /ACP Development Cooperation to inform negotiations on the Lome 1V Convention - (a partnership agreement providing aid and trade provisions between the European Union, and 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific ACP States).
Findings of preliminary research identified the gender implications of the proposed agreement at the household and community level in territories receiving development aid. An alternative framework for trade negotiations for the Lome negotiations was developed.. With the support of OXFAM a further study was conducted in the Windward Islands on the impact of Trade Agreements on the livelihoods of women in female headed households. In 1999, the Vrouwenberaad, supported CAFRA to conduct in-depth research aimed at developing projects to improve the quality of life for women and their families in the affected communities.
CAFRA works in partnership with other networks to hold governments of the region accountable for the development of indicators to monitor the gender impact of all instruments of trade agreements as well as in related social policy, such as health and education.
Through its participation on the Caribbean Reference Group on Trade||, an NGO subgroup of the Caribbean Policy and Development Centre, CAFRA is able to advocate to member states of CARICOM on notions of gender equity and social justice, in relation to economic policy - an area that women’s machineries find particularly challenging.

1.2. Resources

The major obstacle to effective implementation of the PfA by key institutions and organisations in the region was the commitment of technical, financial and human resources. In all countries the focus of country programmes expanded to include issues of health, trade, access to information and technology, retraining and leadership. They expanded in reach as well - to meet the needs of girls, young, disabled, rural and indigenous women. There was also growing commitment to the rights of women, including their sexual and reproductive rights and the conditions of men. The reports all concluded that since mandates have expanded, there was need for more generous inputs of time and financial inputs.

Implementation also required organisational and managerial skill to address the complexity and diversity of issues. It also called for sophisticated modes of communication, in light of the growing number of new local actors.

Additional resources were sourced through international donor agencies. Aid assistance for gender equality objectives was given through responsive programming mechanisms in clearly defined priority areas. Increasingly, agencies are interested in funding integrated approaches to gender equality within sectoral programmes. Many countries also reported on funding support through bilateral programmes.

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Chapter Two

Constraints - The Socioeconomic Environment

Despite the high poverty ratings of some Caribbean countries in the UN Human Development reports since 1995, the quality of life is declining for a vast number of women in the region [24]. World Bank reports 1995- 1998, classify most countries of the Caribbean among the group of middle income countries with large numbers of poor. Haiti and Guyana are described as having widespread and persistent poverty. In the 1999 United Nations Human Development Report, Guyana ranked lowest of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries. The report notes that economic and financial crises of 1997 had several significant effects on the country’s commodity markets with major consequences for the economy and the social sectors [25]. This has increased the number of poor and, in proportionate terms "poor women".

Countries of the Caribbean are undergoing reform of the state sectors. Reform packages are based on a menu of components for improving the efficiency of human resources, decentralising management and service provision, cost recovery and reducing state responsibilities in provision of services. Judith Wedderburn, reporting on the introduction of policies of cost sharing and cost recovery in health and education in Jamaica, notes the negative effect of these policies on low income women [26] . These women carry an unequal share of the cost of social services in the face of government’s inability to provide these services. Revealing government expenditure on education (32%) health, (16%) and national security (17%), she further suggests that after taking care of its debt repayments, the government of Jamaica has little left to pay for things it would have covered in the past.

Access to Health Care for Women in the Caribbean
Privatisation of the health services in Barbados has resulted in less affordable health care for women and their children. Efforts have been made to get private insurance companies, as well as the National Insurance Service, to honour claims for payments for basic health care needed for women, such as pap smears and the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome. In Surinam, vital health indicators reveal a high incidence of preventable maternal and peri-natal death. The political crisis in the country has severely affected the quality of and access to health care facilities for the poor, and for indigenous women in the interior of the country. NGOs which provide critical health services to these groups, do not receive regular subsidies, resulting in diminished services and a loss of quality, to already insufficient services. Communicable discases are on the rise in some countries of the Caribbean. In Belize, outbreaks in Cholera and Malaria are linked to the low standards of living and the lack of sanitation in areas where migrant populations live.
Source: NGO reports

Reforms in the health sector involved new employment packages for workers. Many health professionals at the lower income levels of the sector are women. According to newspaper reports, protests of women workers protested were based on their feelings that their interests were not considered nor were they were not consulted in the design of these packages. In Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, the ensuing conflict between the trade unions representing these workers and the state, came as no surprise. New conditions have failed the expectations of women who had given much time and energy to the care sector and are eager to improve their status, as well as the status of their profession. Many have migrated to foreign countries.

A similar pattern is evolving in relation to education reform. The loss of trained personnel from these sectors has left weakened institutions, depleted human resources and deteriorating social services systems.

These situations belie the goals of these social reform packages with regard to equity, participation, and quality services to women in particular, since women are users and providers of these services.

Caribbean countries have pledged to expand access to their markets and provide the regulatory mechanisms to expand workers= rights. These liberalization strategies presented new challenges to women because of their potential threat to women’s economic rights. Current legislation on occupational health and safety is considered gender blind and not taking account of the lives of women. Reports described the unobtrusive ways in which labour standards and labour practices had been eroded.

In Jamaica, a strategy was implemented to expand the garment industry and make it more competitive. Many women gained promotions within the industry, but could not go on to gain promotion (and consequently increase their incomes) outside the industry. The strategy therefore failed to address the gendered division of labour. It was based on certain assumptions about women’s lives which commit them to low income occupations. The strategy could have benefited from collaboration with women-workers associations, whose perspectives would have ensured that the strategy was empowering to its beneficiaries.

The Barbados report notes that while women responded to the micro-entrepreneurship strategy of the government and moved into their own businesses, these are at low levels of operation. The report suggests that this may be due to existing gender arrangements in the society which stereotype women as risks, rather than as good entrepreneurs.

Overall, the socio-economic environment presented the following constraints to the implementation of the PfA in the Caribbean over the last five years:

• inertia around issues of women’s equality and women’ rights. State institutions with responsibility for women and gender issues were generally understaffed. Often there was a rapid change of staff in the women’s bureau with a change of government, resulting in little continuity of programming on critical gender issues. With shrinking political will, resources for the foundations of gender main streaming, such as data-gathering and research, have been limited. The lack of data has affected the development of appropriate interventions in substantive areas. Governments are therefore under increased pressure to address Aperceived needs@, such as the needs of men, despite long standing and growing concerns of women on issues of poverty, violence and gender justice.

• lack of political will to make the substantial shift from WID to GAD. The focus on project-oriented programmes for women’s enhancement by the Bureaux, remains unchanged. It has also been observed that in most countries women’s bureaux have been unable to execute their mandate for gender equality policy development. These institutions also missed opportunities to involve the NGO sector in monitoring and implementing gender policy across development sectors. NGO reports from Barbados, Guyana, Surinam and Jamaica raise these disturbing trends which ultimately also speak to the nature of partnerships between women’s NGOs and the state.

• increased risk of poverty and unemployment among women. Poverty continued to be more widespread among female-headed households and among women who have low educational backgrounds. Women in rural areas and indigenous women were found to be especially vulnerable. Indigenous women in Guyana, Surinam and Belize [27] are largely excluded from educational, political and economic opportunities. Children are forced to use English as their first language, putting them at a severe disadvantage within the normal population. In Guyana, indigenous women have given attention to this. During the period under review, they documented one of their languages and are now able to communicate more effectively outside their communities. This is a strategic step towards their political and economic empowerment.

• increased movement of women across state borders in search for jobs. For many women these jobs are often low paying and hazardous, resulting in exploitation. Migrant women often fall outside the social safety net and have difficulties in accessing social security and other social services. The perception within the receiving country is that migrant women "draw on social services". Language barriers also often limit these women from accessing opportunities to improve their skills and their quality of life. In most countries there is no current official state policy to resolve the demands and claims of these women. They have been socially isolated and are unable to participate in defining or benefiting from, poverty alleviation strategies. Country reports of Haiti and Belize report on violation to women’s economic rights, and, in the case of Haiti, the citizenship rights of their children.
  
  

Women with children without rights.
Haitian women who cross over into the Dominican Republic to join their husbands as migrant workers, give birth to children who are not entitled to citizenship in that country. Women are rounded up, with no notice, and sent back to Haiti, often leaving these children to face the vagaries of a hostile environment.
Haitian woman informant.

• conditions of employment among low income women are not being adequately monitored. More women across the region entered a skewed labour market in which large percentages of them work for low incomes. Trade liberalisation has generated policy issues for women workers relevant to termsandconditions of employment, occupational health and safety, wage levels, occupational mobility and enforcement of labour standards. There is urgent needfor information and strong advocacy.

• In Jamaica, 1998 figures show that long term unemployment was just over three times more among women than men. Unemployment among young women also steadily increased.In the face of rising unemployment, more women and girls reportedly entered the hazardous informal sector.Women’sorganisations pressed for legislationonoccupational health and safety to safeguard women workers in this sector. Difficulties in monitoring "working girls" has made it hard to suggest alternative strategies to address their needs.

• Job creation strategies are not gender sensitive. As noted in the Barbados report, these strategies reproduce the gender arrangements in society that isolate women, or prevent them from taking entrepreneurial risks. Income disparities between women and men in both the formal and informal sectors have therefore increased.
  
  

NGOs in Partnership For HIV/AIDS Prevention
HIV/AIDS continues to pose serious health, social, economic and cultural challenges in the Caribbean in the last five years. In Tobago , with a population of 51,246 persons in 1996, there were 53 deaths for HIV/AIDS, thirty of which were diagnosed in that year.* Not only has the pattern of transmission changed in some populations, but the rate of infection among girls and young women has increased very rapidly. There has also been a noted increase in pediatric cases of HIV. The fear and stigma of HIV remains high, resulting in a reduction of the quality of care accessible to HIV infected persons. NGOs have played an effective role in promoting a gender approach to HIV/AIDS prevention education programmes by acting as advocates for the protection of women’s rights as human rights. Maxi Linder, an association of commercial sex workers in Surinam, educates prostitutes in safe sex practices. Their work has become particularly important to prostitutes who earn a living in the mining areas of the country. Maxi Linder has formed partnerships with the mining company to protect the rights of these women. Throughout the region women’s NGOs with different constituencies participate in National AIDS Committees, convincing the key stakeholders of the need to bring about necessary changes.
* Source. 1996 mid-year estimates, (Population and Vital Statistics 1996. Central Statistical Office) Annual Report of the District Health Services, Tobago Regional Health Authority, Division of Health and Social Services, 1998.

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Chapter Three

Constraints - The Socio - Cultural Environment

The Chapter explores the socio-cultural resistance to achieving the goals of the PfA. It focuses on the threats to the establishment of rights-based approaches to the goals of gender equality and social justice. The indicators used are participation in decision-making, the promotion of women’s rights and the participation by civil society.

3.1 Women’s Participation in Decision- making

In the period under review, there was evidence of regression in the participation of women in positions of influence, particularly in the political sphere. Except for Barbados, most countries remained under 17% representation in politics.

In general, the problems of women in decision making have much to do with the deep socio-cultural resistance to their participation in the public sphere. Often women are forced to reconsider their role in politics because of their ascribed family roles. They are also challenged by the lack of resources for campaigning, and administration of their constituencies.

Women’s participation in political institutions has also been an ongoing concern in the region over the last five years. Among those women who present themselves for leadership, issues of accountability and capacity for leadership emerge. A regional workshop was held in Trinidad and Tobago in 1997 to explore these concerns among women politicians. The number of new programmes developed within the five year period which aim to enhance women=s personal development attest to the growing interest in addressing this area of inequality at the local level.

Women in leadership
What do women want more of in Barbados?
Since 1995, women are still under represented in the political sphere. In Barbados there are 28 members of parliament, of which three are women. All three were members of Cabinet, but in 1999, one was relieved of her ministerial portfolio. One female MP is also a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, whilst the other is the Minister of Education. The Senate, with a total of 21 members, has seven female Senators. Women appear to be still reluctant to offer themselves as political candidates during election, although they still predominate at the administrative levels. According to one informant, "The environment has suddenly become so hostile over the last five years. The more we push to enter, or to keep the door ajar for women, the tighter shut it becomes." National dialogue on gender relations, sponsored by the Division of Women’s Affairs generated much hostility from men in Barbados. There seems to be growing sentiments that women have had enough and that men must get a chance now!

While statistics showed an overall reduction in the percentages of women in the parliaments of the region, there are some exciting improvements. In Trinidad and Tobago, the number of women as elected representatives at the local government level in 1999 has increased.

The Network of NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago, with support from all the major political parties, used a creative strategy through alliance building to launch a massive campaign and training programme to increase the number of women participating in the political process at the local government level.

In 1997-1998 indigenous women in Guyana were supported to increase their representation on community councils through a community development strategy. In 1999, women in Guyana lobbied for the inclusion of gender equality at the level of constitutional reform. The Campaign for Political Reform in Belize made recommendations to improve the political system through a comprehensive list of inclusive actions, based on equity and fairness.

3.2. Promotion of Women’s Rights

Events have occurred which have implications for advancing the legal agenda in support of gender equality and the promotion of women’s human’s rights. One was the ease with which some countries removed themselves from obligations under international human rights instruments. This approach by the states has wider implications for the context in which the gender agenda is being mapped out in the region.

The area of greatest contestation and male resistance was the area of violence against women and girls. Evidence of this is supported by the increasing rates of violence reported and in the levels of HIV/AIDS/STD prevalence among young women in the region. The PfA calls for mechanisms that are holistic and multi disciplinary. In Belize approaches to issues of violence and HIV/AIDS are comprehensive and multi-sectoral. Gender based violence is considered an explicit reproductive health issue and is approached holistically within the health and related sectors. However, in many other countries interventions were targeted to male dominated and male controlled institutions such as the police service and the media.

Activists therefore continued to seek strategies that were humanitarian and rehabilitative. They challenged the justice system to promote women’s human rights by imposing stronger sentencing in cases of rape. Feminist lawyers introduced the battered women’s syndrome in their representation of women who "hit back". Women Media Watch groups in Jamaica and Trinidad encouraged peace-building by monitoring images presented and the standpoints taken in press reports. In novel approaches, these groups also offered training to media personnel on reporting in pre and post conflict situations. In Dominica, the National Council on Women on the invitation of the Commissioner of Prisons, conducted education workshops on the Sexual Offences Act, emphasising the rights of women and girls, with male prison inmates who were sex offenders.

It has been more difficult for the state to pursue legal reform to improve women=s access to land or credit - situations in which there is traditional male dominance. Legal reform has also been somewhat less promising in addressing labour rights issues for low income women workers, such as domestic workers. In Surinam, through a partnership between the government, women’s NGOs, the Trade Unions and the private sector, an investigation was launched into sexual harassment in the work place. Protocols were developed to guide reporting on cases of sexual harassment.

3.3 Participation by Civil Society

Civil society plays a key role in defining national priorities and the scope of national plans, policies and programmes. Given the lack of political will for consultation and reported low levels of participation by women in national decision-making, it was not surprising to have a number of country reports describe the process of developing of national plans as not transparent, and that they did not meet women’s interests. National plans were described as "centralised" . They failed to take account of the initiatives by NGOs working on the ground. Reports also questioned the level of intersectoral collaboration, the lack of targets, indicators and the level of input resources.

3.4 Power and Empowerment

Working on empowerment issues in the context of current reforms was to be one of the most complex challenges in implementing the PfA in the Caribbean. Who is empowered and how? Who is participating and where does the power reside? There has also been much conceptual confusion at the micro and macro level, on the meaning and use of the term "gender" in the context of development. This has brought apathy to the agenda, particularly where there are efforts to advance women’s interests. Theorizing on masculinities has found a place on the academic landscape, along research to support or debunk the male marginalisation thesis .

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Chapter Four

Conclusions and Recommendations

The strategic actions of the PfA are based the fundamentals of the human rights paradigm. This chapter presents the conclusions and recommendations beyond the year 2000.

4.1 Conclusions

Since 1995, there have been significant achievements in implementing actions of the Beijing PfA. These have occurred through difficult political, social and economic conditions. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, and in the case of Montserrat, volcanic activity, placed added burdens on the economies, belying effective development planning and programme for implementing the goals of the PfA.

Political changes resulted in shifts in political will and commitment towards the goals of gender equality. This has had varied impact on the policy environment needed for implementing the PfA. In some countries, changes facilitated partnership-building between the state and NGOs, and in other countries not.

NGOs addressed critical areas of women’s empowerment and gender inequality, using resources made possible mainly through donor aid. Vital services were delivered in health, reproductive health (such as abortion services and services for teen mothers, education, training in business/entrepreneurial development, and in policy development). Partnerships worked where they was mutual reinforcement - financially and technically. There was a significant loss of political ground in promoting women’s rights. This was consistently reflected in the public dialogue on critical gender issues and alarming level of misogyny in the in the discourse of the state!

Academic and tertiary level institutions are vital partners in the implementation process. They played significant roles in reducing "gender blindness" within policy approaches, and are allies in advocating for gender equality in key places of decision making.

Shrinking resources and weak institutional capacities in the state and non-state sectors were the major constraints to achievement of the goals of the PfA.

The absence of a monitoring mechanisms in the state and non-state sector and a clearly articulated rights agenda in support women=s social, economic, political and cultural rights were the main constraints to implementation measures.

Overall, women’s NGOs, supported by partnerships locally and with international development agencies, brought richness to the national and regional implementation processes over the last five years. In particular, they mobilized significant levels of resources and worked at defining new areas of inequality in relation to current development strategies. One clearly defined emerging area is relation to regional trade. NGOs grew in commitment to the establishment of socially just approaches to economic and social development beyond the year 2000.

4.2 Recommendations

The following are the recommendations of the report.

1. Political commitment must be secured at the highest level to advance the goals of the PfA.
2. Mechanisms for implementing the PfA must be inclusive, transparent and broad based and with adequate budgets.
3. Partnerships must be encouraged between the state and the non-state sector for the effective design and monitoring of implementation measures.
4. Institutional strengthening is a prerequisite for effective implementation. Strong institutions ensure justice and protect the rights of women.
5. Gender analysis should be applied to all reform strategies in the social and economic sectors, and to all development strategies, to ensure that priorities are set with equity and on rational evidence.
6. National and regional actions must seek to bridge the widening gap between the lives of women and macroeconomic policies.

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References

1. CPDC Caribbean Beacon. Address by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre - 20th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community July 1999. July- September. St. Michael, Barbados, W.I.
2. ECLAC/CDCC. Report of the Third Ministerial Conference on Women in Review and Appraisal of the FWCW Platform for Action, LC/CAR/G.583, November 1999.
3. Taller Regional De America Latina Y El Caribe Sobre Derechos Humanos De Las Mujeres En El Contexto De Traffico Y Migracion. 26-26 de Junio de 1998. Republica Dominicana.
4. Women in Development Europe (WIDE) and Caribbean Association for feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). Report of Caribbean NGOs Strategic Planning Conference . October 10-14, 1996. Curacao.
   
   

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APPENDIX I

Presentation by The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) to the Third Caribbean Ministerial Conference on Women
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 5-7 October 1999

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

CAFRA is a regional network of feminist activists, researchers and women’s organisations, which was launched at a regional conference marking the end of the UN Decade for Women, in April 1985. The Association’s membership spans the Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

CAFRA serves as a facilitator of the regional women’s movement, responding to its needs and seeking to encourage regional collaboration and solidarity. In 1994, the Association was designated NGO Focal Point for the Caribbean Subregion, for the Fourth World Conference on Women.

REVIEW OF WORK COMPLETED SINCE BEIJING

The Beijing Platform for Action has defined twelve critical areas of concern, affecting the advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men, and outlined strategies for change.

Following the Beijing Conference, CAFRA, participated in several important follow-up actions, including:

(a) Preparation of the CARICOM Post-Beijing Regional Plan of Action to the Year 2000 (b) The Regional Advisory Committee on Women and Gender Issues, coordinated by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), to review the implications for the Caribbean of the Platform for Action and coordinate actions. (c) Preparation of a Caribbean NGO Regional Plan of Action.

In addition, CAFRA Coordinated an NGO Panel at the CARICOM/ ECLAC/ UNIFEM Post-Beijing Encounter: Caribbean Subregional Ministerial Conference, held in Guyana in August 1997.

CAFRA continues to participate in the Latin America and the Caribbean Forum on Women ’95, which is actively preparing for the Eighth Regional Conference on Women Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in Lima in February 2000.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION

Since 1995, there is evidence that economic and political forces have been responsible for measures and policies, which run counter to the commitments made by our governments for implementing the Platform for Action. Many existing and subsequent policy decisions are in direct contradiction to the promises made. For example, few national budgets address gender imbalances in resource allocation, and labour legislation continues to deny domestic workers the rights and protection enjoyed by other workers.

In some countries, the political representation of women in elected bodies has regressed since Beijing. For example, whereas in 1995 there were two women in the parliament of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, in 1998 the figure was reduced to one, with no woman holding a Cabinet post.

Another grave concern is the withdrawal by some governments from international human rights conventions. This raises questions for us as to the future of governments’ obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, which should be open for signature, ratification and accession in 2000.

We have also seen a weakening of the partnership between government and NGOs that was so evident during the Beijing preparatory process and at the Conference itself, when several NGO representatives led the government negotiations on key aspects of the Platform for Action.

NGOs are called upon to assist in implementing the Platform for Action, at a time of dwindling resources. For example, CAFRA is among the social partners who have been unable to access the European Union’s resources for decentralised cooperation in partnership with CARIFORUM.

Effective collaboration between governments and NGOs is essential for any improvement of the quality of life of our people.

In spite of these constraints, women’s NGOs maintain the need to act and advocate for change.

The low socio-economic status and growing poverty of women and their families, has led to hardship for vulnerable sectors of the population: indigenous women (who are to be found in the interior of Guyana and Suriname and in specific communities in Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) rural women, disabled women, young women and older women.

Employment of farmers —many of whom are women— in the banana export sector of some Caribbean countries is in serious jeopardy because of the United States’ challenge to the preferential trade provisions granted by the EU to Caribbean countries through the Lomé agreement. The social and economic consequences of a complete closure of the banana export outlet, combined with the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters, are serious obstacles to achieving the goals of the Platform for Action.

If police statistics are any indicator, then we are not doing enough to combat the problem of gender-based violence, and stem the growing current of misogyny in our region.

Also disturbing is the fact that in the Caribbean, the highest rate of new HIV infection is among adolescent girls. While women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and STDs is partly determined by physiological factors, it further reflects their wider economic, social and sexual vulnerability.

The trafficking in women for tourism and the sex trade, their recruitment for the drug trade and the growing number of Caribbean women incarcerated in the region and overseas for drug trafficking, are cause for concern.

The enabling environment must be created for implementation of the Platform for Action, through effective collaborative mechanisms.

NEW INITIATIVES

In collaboration with intergovernmental agencies, several new initiatives were undertaken, including:

a) The UNIFEM Campaign for Women’s Human Rights to end violence against women and children, which included a plan to train Police Officers in Domestic Violence prevention and treatment. b) The Caribbean Subregion of the Global Network of Women in Politics. Several countries represented in the network have undertaken projects to support and train women candidates for local and national elections. c) The Regional Network of Domestic Workers in the Caribbean, to achieve full recognition of domestic workers as workers in law and practice, and improve their status and terms and conditions of work. d) The Caribbean Reference Group (CRG) on trade and development issues, which is preparing a regional NGO/Civil Society position on a new cooperation agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP). Within this group, CAFRA is lobbying for the integration of a gender perspective into all fields covered by the Convention. e) An important conference, the Vital Voices of the Caribbean, which provided a forum for women leaders to establish a sustainable culture of support among them and addressed specific objectives of the Platform for Action, in particular, equal access to decision making and institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women.

PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE ACTION

As we approach the year 2000, NGOs and governments must enter into new levels of partnership. We offer the following priorities for future action:

We respectfully urge governments to:

1. Include representatives of non-governmental organisations on the official delegations to:

• The 8th Regional Conference on Women of Latin America and the Caribbean (Lima, February 2000);
• The 2nd Preparatory Committee for the Beijing Plus Five Special Session (New York, March 2000)
• The Beijing Plus Five Special Session, Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century (New York, June 2000).

2. Take action to put into effect the target of having at least 30 per cent female representation in local and national governments and other decision-making bodies.

3. Support the Police Training Programme for Domestic Violence prevention and treatment, and invest in programme strategies and processes aimed specifically at children, pre-teens and young adults to stem the trend of violence against women in our societies.

4. Support the proposal emerging from the Vital Voices of the Caribbean Conference, for a Regional Leadership Training Institute, to provide training for and technical assistance to, women leaders and women’s organisations.

5. Recognise domestic workers as workers in law and practice and ensure that they receive all the legal rights and protections accorded to other workers.

6. Add HIV/AIDS to the action agendas of all government ministries.

7. Consider the implications for gender planning in the Beijing Platform for Action, and other, Programmes of Action, such as Agenda 21, and those adopted by the Vienna Conference on Human Rights (1993), the Small Island Developing States (1994), and the International Conference on Population and Development (1994); and produce gender-sensitive budgets for their implementation.

8. Enter into partnership with NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs), to carry out various communication and training activities.

9. Ensure that the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) is sensitised to the commitments of the Beijing Platform for Action, and use the negotiations for a post-Lomé IV agreement as an opportunity to allocate resources for women’s development.

10. Ensure that the staff at UN missions is well briefed and maintains proper communication with their capitals, various government departments and NGOs, to enable them to negotiate meaningfully at important international fora.

11. Upgrade the Women’s Bureaux with staff and other resources, to enable them to effectively monitor trends and implement actions for women’s advancement.

12. Commit resources to enable capacity building in gender analysis and management in key institutions, particularly those responsible for and affected by sectoral reform.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The women’s movement intends to work collectively and alongside government for fulfillment of the goals of Beijing.

The vision of the future remains one in which social justice is realised for all. Implementation of the CARICOM Regional Plan of Action, and use of CARICOM model legislation as a basis for legal reform, will engage governments and NGOs in a meaningful partnership; a partnership in which each brings their resources to the table, and collaborates, while maintaining their autonomy.





Presented by: Ms. Catherine Shepherd
Information Officer
CAFRA

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APPENDIX II

QUESTIONNAIRE ASSESSMENT OF BEIJING ACTIVITIES 1995-2000

The Goal of this questionnaire is to assess the extent to which human, technical and financial resources have been obtained in implementing the Platform for Action.

SECTION I

1. In the context of a development strategy of participatory democracy, encouragement of new policy directions, what partnerships have been formed with the state towards implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action? (a) New partnerships/Alliances - NGOs/CBOs (b) Government/ NGO

2. What opportunities arose? How many were taken or missed, and why?

3. How have NGOs assisted in the process? What have they used?

4. What efforts have been made to involve the Trade Union Movement?

5. What is the situation of women in the workplace, at home and beyond the home?

• multiple job holding
• re-training
  
  

SECTION II

6. What is the impact of Public Sector Reform and Privatisation on:

• (a) Women’s Health
• (b) The treatment of HIV/AIDS
• (c) Women’s Education and Training including the need for re-tooling
• (d) What are the levels of inequities in education based on geography and culture?
• (e) What are the choices/learning opportunities available to boys and girls? And Why?
  
  

SECTION III

What is the status of women’s political empowerment at Parliament and community level?

8. What resources were made available for women’s entrepreneurship and economic development? How were these resources utilised?

9. What opportunities are there for women to voice their needs and how are these reflected in the National Budget?

SECTION IV

10. How have natural disasters, civil unrest in the region affected the advancement of women and the implementation of the Platform for Action?

11. What role has the NGO played in addressing the crisis of disasters and damage to natural resources and human sustainability?

SECTION V

12. How have we advanced the goals of social/gender equity with regard to 1. Violence Against Women and 2. Human Rights

Is there an adequate communications strategy in operation?

SECTION VI

13. Has there been an enabling environment for NGO Partnership with Government?

• Are the available resources directed towards the new framework as outlined in the Platform for Action?
• What obstacles are being encountered?
• What is needed to assist the NGOs in their struggle to be accountable?
• Is the concept and practice of “Networking” really working for NGOs in the implementation of the Platform for Action?