Theme: UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls

25 November – 10 December 2025

This year, UNFPA Caribbean joins the global community in marking the 16 Days of Activism with a powerful, regional call: to end all forms of gender-based violence, including technology-facilitated GBV (TFGBV). From cyberstalking and online harassment to image-based abuse and digital hate, violence in online spaces is real and its impact on women and girls is profound.

 

An Art-Driven Campaign for Change

In 2025, the campaign is anchored in art and culture as tools for advocacy, healing and resistance. Murals, creative youth sessions, cultural showcases and insightful interviews with stakeholders, are central to this year’s approach. We use the power of visual expression to spark dialogue, challenge harmful norms, and build solidarity across communities.

This creative strategy places artists, young people and cultural practitioners at the heart of the movement, reinforcing that art is not only expression but action. 

 

Why This Matters in the Caribbean

Across the English-speaking Caribbean, violence against women and girls remains widespread. Research shows that nearly 46% of women in several Caribbean nations have experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime. In a rapidly evolving digital world, these harms increasingly extend into online spaces, where women and girls face new forms of risk and intimidation. As a region, we must respond boldly and creatively.

 

Take Action with Us

Join the movement by:

• Following and sharing campaign content using #16Days #UNiTE #EndDigitalViolence #CaribbeanAgainstGBV
• Learning how to stay safe online and supporting others in your community
• Engaging with our mural
• Standing in solidarity with survivors, online and offline

 

Together, we can create a Caribbean where women and girls live free from fear in every space, digital and physical.

Art can ignite awareness. Art can inspire justice. Art can drive transformation.

 

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What is Technology-facilitated Gender-based violence?

 

In today’s digital era, technology offers immense possibilities, however, it has also created new pathways for harm. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is the extension of offline violence into online spaces through the use of apps, devices, and digital platforms.

In this video, Titian Rose Whittle, Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Specialist at the UNFPA Caribbean, highlights the growing impact of TFGBV and our regional efforts to strengthen prevention, support survivors, and promote safer digital environments.

Through partnerships with ECLAC, UN Women, and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, UNFPA is advancing research, youth engagement, and awareness initiatives, including our 16 Days of Activism campaign and a regional study on women in public life.

As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, UNFPA remains committed to protecting the rights and wellbeing of women, girls, and young people, online and offline.

Together, we can build a safer digital future for all.

 

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Prevention of Technology facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV)

 

Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is the extension of offline gender-based violence into digital spaces through apps, phones, messaging platforms, and other online tools.

In this youth-focused session, participants explored the forms of harm they experience online and shared practical responses such as reporting, blocking, and supporting peers. Their voices highlight the urgency of addressing TFGBV, with 58% of adolescents experiencing some form of online gender-based violence before age 14.

UNFPA works to educate and equip communities with the knowledge and tools needed to mitigate risks and help prevent occurrences of TFGBV, while empowering young people to lead awareness and promote safer digital practices.

Together, we can build safer online spaces for all.

 

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Response to Technology facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV)

 

Gender-based violence remains a pervasive challenge across Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, and the Caribbean, impacting families, youth, and communities both offline and online. As digital connectivity grows, Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is increasing, spreading harm across borders with ease.

 

This campaign, supported by the High Commission of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, highlights the urgent need for prevention, education, and collective responsibility, especially engaging men, boys, and young people. Through advocacy, art, and regional research with ECLAC and ParlAmericas, the UN is working to strengthen awareness, mitigate risks, and build safer digital environments.

 

Together, we can promote respect, protect vulnerable groups, and help end GBV in all its forms, online and offline.

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Law and Policy

 

Trinidad and Tobago continues to face significant gaps in legislation addressing gender-based violence, especially Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). With only the outdated Computer Misuse Act in place, survivors, law enforcement, and support agencies face real challenges in responding to online abuse.

Across the UN system, partners are working to support national efforts to strengthen laws, policies, and coordinated responses. The UNFPA contributes technical expertise, promotes systemic solutions, and works with government, civil society, and specialist agencies to improve prevention, reporting, and protection measures, particularly for women, girls, and children at risk.

Law enforcement and child protection agencies highlight the growing digital dimension of crime, the need for stronger investigative tools, and the importance of collaboration across sectors. As online harms increase, so does the urgency to build digital safety, improve legal frameworks, and empower communities with the knowledge to prevent TFGBV.

Together, government, the UN, and national partners are working to ensure safer digital and physical environments, and to protect the rights and wellbeing of every person.

 

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Campaign Wrap Up

 

 

 

 

This year’s 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence campaign across the Caribbean brought communities together, not just to speak out, but to create, engage and transform. Under the 2025 theme “Let’s Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls,” we challenged violence in all its forms and reclaimed digital spaces as places of dignity, respect, and safety.

 

What We Did

We organised art-driven advocacy through a powerful mural project, turning empty walls into bold statements of solidarity and hope.

We held an artist-led, creative workshop that engaged youth, activists & agency partners to raise awareness about technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), foster dialogue, and build digital literacy and safety.

We collaborated with local partners to produce a series of recorded interviews to amplify voices, provide support, and reinforce our shared commitment to ending GBV in all spaces online and offline.

Together, these initiatives transformed the 16 Days campaign from symbolic activism into lived, community-driven action.

Partners & Contributors

We extend our deepest gratitude to the individuals, agencies and organisations that made this campaign possible:

• Global Affairs Canada
• The Canadian High Commission (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Ms. Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UN Resident Coordinator
• The Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
• The Cybercrime and Social Media Unit, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
• The Gender Affairs Division, Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services
• The National Carnival Commission (Use of the Grand Stand wall for the mural)
• Ms. Chantal La Roche, Director, Legal Services, Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
• Nimah Muwakil-Zakuri, Project Consultant
• Lucille Nathu, Project Assistant 
• Millenial Studios Limited, Videography
• Ayrïd By Design, Graphic Design
• Michelle Isava, Artist (Zine Workshop)
• Nadya Shah, Lead Mural Artist
• Chioke Herbert, Collaborating Artist
• Richard Taylor, Collaborating Artist
• Brandon Hilton-Clarke, Collaborating Artist
• Joanne Harris, Catering
• Carol Duprey, Catering 
• Kamaria Charles Richards, Pannist
• Gabrielle Jackson, Spokesperson for Student Volunteers
• Andrea Jackson, Volunteer Parent
• Other Student Volunteers

Your time, energy, creativity and commitment brought this movement to life.

Why It Matters

Because violence against women and girls doesn’t stop at physical spaces. In an increasingly digital world, harassment, cyber-stalking, image-based abuse, sextortion and other forms of TFGBV have become all too common, threatening safety, dignity, mental health and trust.

By uniting across the Caribbean, using art as advocacy, and building community awareness and resilience, we took a stand: digital spaces must be safe spaces.

This year’s campaign is more than a series of events, it is a renewed commitment to protecting women and girls, uplifting survivors, educating communities, and demanding accountability.

Keep the Conversation Going

Be kind online.

Speak up when you see abuse.

Support survivors.

Advocate for safer digital and physical spaces.

Together, we can and will make a Caribbean where every woman and girl can live free from fear, online and off.