NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Twenty-three young adults have been engaged in helping the youth of The Bahamas to gain greater awareness of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and strategies that can lead to its reduction in our country.
The cohort was formed due to ORG’s latest iteration of its Me, You, Us Youth Saloon project, which featured both high school and university students who worked with ORG Administrative manager and project lead Delsanea Thompson.
The group explored the causes and solutions around GBV over a three-month period and was then tasked with developing a public education campaign that would resonate with other youth.
Thompson, who traveled in June to the Dominican Republic for the Caribbean United Against GBV conference, underscored that “gender-based violence is a global community health problem that affects one out of every three women and girls at some point in their lives. It is any act that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women.
“While ORG itself is not positioned as a GBV expert in The Bahamas, we are very much invested in ensuring that Bahamians youth become active voices in our community. Through a social emotional learning approach, this group can be a catalyst for their peers,” said Thompson.
“This is a gender-based program but for us it’s about social education and about activating youth activists. The format of our project was to get youth to develop tools that would speak to their peers about this topic. Programs like this all speak to the power of youth creating ways to discuss these issues with their peers.”
This year’s cohort chose to develop a video series titled, “Listen Up”, as its core project to help spread awareness of gender-based violence in the country. On the show, participants discuss their thoughts and opinions on gender-based violence in the home and school environments. The three-part series will premier online on ORG’s social media platforms in July.
For Talitha Pratt, a 21-year-old student at the University of The Bahamas, the decision to join the cohort came from a desire to help persons struggling with abuse.
“I saw the increase of domestic violence that been happening throughout the pandemic and the various stats,” Pratt said.
“I wanted to find a way to help in any way that I can, whether it’s a comforting word. I wanted to be part of a program that wants justice and that would find ways to help victims.
“This conversation is important because some of the violence we see and experience is so normalized – the cultural aspects of it. people laugh and joke about domestic violence and it’s not a funny thing.”
Nineteen-year-old Johnnecia Pinder echoed Pratt’s sentiment stating that she has dedicated herself to imparting what she learned to primary and junior high schoolers.
“I joined this program because I wanted to gain more knowledge on gender-based violence as well as bring awareness to it,” Pinder added.
“I felt that this conversation is important so that persons would feel comfortable enough to speak out about it. I feel 100 percent confident because I know that someone will gain knowledge about what was presented. Anyone, literally anyone can be a victim and victims tend to reach out more to Faith-Based Organizations.”
The structure of this cohort’s GBV program made way for the participants to speak with experts from groups like Equality Bahamas and The Bahamas Crisis Center to get a better understanding of the critical issue. The video series will help youth learn how to identify behavioral patterns and know what resources are available when individuals are met with intimate partner violence or GBV in general.
ORG, through initiatives like this, seeks to create a more educated populace and empower people with the tools and knowledge to advocate for the issues that matter to them.
“Unsurprisingly, one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to eliminate GBV within the next nine years,” said Matt Aubry, ORG’s Executive Director.
“We are proud of the 23 youth activists who have shown such great interest and commitment to raising awareness and adding to the momentum toward ending violence against women and girls. Their work demonstrates the importance of getting informed and getting involved.”
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