BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and UN Women have signed an agreement to support a common approach to measuring Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the Caribbean. Although GBV, in particular violence against women and girls, affects much of the Region, many countries do not generate or have access to comprehensive data on the frequency, nature and response to this issue.

The agreement was signed today at CDB’s headquarters in Barbados. It makes provisions for both agencies to work together to close the data gap, ensuring regional policy measures are put in place to address the problem more effectively. “This agreement aims to support the CARICOM Secretariat in building regional knowledge transfer and sustainability in systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of comparable prevalence data on GBV in the Caribbean. This intervention is part of a broader project in which CDB and UN Women will cooperate in the production of data on gender-based violence in the Region and the building of regional capacities in this regard,” said Monica La Bennett, Acting Vice-President (Operations) at CDB, who signed on behalf of the Bank.

CDB and UN Women will work in tandem to support the deepening of the CARICOM region’s expertise in data collection and analysis on GBV, through the implementation and formal adoption of the CARICOM Model. The CARICOM survey model collects data on the frequency of GBV against women, and also highlights the consequences for women, their children and families, and risk and protective factors for violence. This information can directly inform service provision and prevention strategies.(CDB)…[+]