Trinidad & Tobago

Laws enacted

• DV Act enacted (1999);
• Married Persons Act  (1999)
• Matrimonial Proceeding and Property Act
• Cohabitation Relationship Act (2000)
• The Maternity Protection Act (1998);
• Sexual Offences Act (2000)
• Equal Opportunity Act (2000)

Policies Implemented

• Population Policy adopted and passed by Parliament
• Policy for the provision of sexual and reproductive health services revised to include currently under-served populations, such as males, youth and the elderly.
• National HIV/AIDS Programme established; Youth Arm (RAPPORT) established in 1995: IEC programmes for adults and adolescents; National HIV/AIDS Policy and Programme developed; FPATT:  Two major national prevention initiatives, implementation if HIV VCT programme planned.
• National AIDS programme (NAP); National AIDS programme for youth (RAPPORT); IEC; counseling; policy for AIDS in the workplace; PMTCT programme (since 1999); training to students at Medical School.
• Draft Policy on Ageing
• Division of Ageing established, to develop and monitor strategies and programmes to address ageing.
• Homes for Older Persons Act (2000), passed by Parliament- awaits proclamation.
• Old age pension in the amount of Trinidad and Tobago $1000 provided by government to ensure that pensioners live above the poverty line of $600 per month.
• A task force has been established to review pensions and formulate a suitable model to ensure equity between the contributory and non-contributory systems.
• Geriatric Adolescent Partnership Programme [GAPP] and The Retiree Adolescent Partnership Programme [RAPP] established in which retired teachers provide remedial education classes to children attending schools that are on a shift system.
• 1997: Welfare grants to the elderly increased.
• Free public transportation for the elderly (60 and over).
• Based on income criteria, elderly are eligible for social security assistance.

Partnerships established

• CAFRA:  Study on commercial sex workers; NAP:  Workshops to address substance abuse and HIV in collaboration with NADAPP; FPATT offers comfortable access to services also to subgroups.
• FPATT:  HFLE for in and out of school youth;  Ministry of Health:  programmes at schools:  RH, HIV/AIDS education; various activities by NGOs; peer counseling programmes.
• Access to information available, videos FPATT web-site, print material from NGOs; National HIV/AIDS programme:  RAPPORT; FPATT:  Peer training programme (Youth Advocacy Movement)
• Ministries of Community Development;  Education; and Sports and Youth: Youth development and apprenticeship centres; programmes by NGOs and CBOs.
• Trinidad and Tobago Youth Councils;  The RAPPORT;  FPATT to advocate youth participation
• Gender Affairs: Male Support Programme (2000): Promote gender sensitisation; collaboration with NGOs on awareness creation;  FPATT through:  HFLE, De Living Room, peer helper programmes;  For Men Only Clinics:  Advocate women’s rights and empowerment.

Continuing challenges

• Processing and analysis of demographic data.
• Greater Focus on demographic research.
• Better understanding and acceptance of population issues and population and development linkages.
• Establishment of the Population Unit to monitor and implement Population Policy.
• Government monitoring mechanisms not yet in place; no reporting to CEDAW.
• Emergency contraception not provided by Government, available at private pharmacies without prescription and FPATT since 2002;  female condoms not available