In a rural community in southwest Trinidad, Chanelle’s journey into advocacy began not with a title, but with observation. As a child, she noticed the silences around her, how gender roles played out, how certain experiences were dismissed, and how some voices were never fully heard. Those early observations shaped a deep awareness of inequality and a growing desire to respond.
“I didn’t start out thinking I would become an advocate,” she reflects. “It started with noticing, and realizing I didn’t just want to tell stories, I wanted to help change them.”
Today, Chanelle is a communications professional and storyteller with over a decade of experience in journalism and media, using her platform to amplify Caribbean voices, particularly those often pushed to the margins, including women, young people, and LGBTQ+ communities. Her work is grounded in care, empathy, and collaboration. She believes leadership should feel human rather than hierarchical, and that meaningful change comes from working alongside communities rather than speaking for them. Guided by intersectionality, she recognizes that overlapping realities shape people’s experiences: gender, class, sexuality, and culture, and works to ensure those complexities are acknowledged and respected.
For Chanelle, impact is not only measured through policies or programmes, but through everyday moments of transformation. During a Safe Cycle school session focused on consent and healthy boundaries, she recalls engaging a student who initially appeared disruptive and disengaged. As the discussion unfolded, he began to shift, asking questions, participating actively, and eventually encouraging his peers to engage. That moment, she shares, was a reminder that advocacy is about creating safe spaces where young people can challenge norms, reflect, and grow.
Chanelle’s work is part of a broader regional movement for gender equality and social justice, reflected in her participation in the Caribbean Convening hosted by UNFPA and the Equality Fund. The convening brought together women, youth, Indigenous, and grassroots organisations to strengthen collaboration, co-create solutions and advocate for flexible funding for gender equality, SRHR, and climate resilience. For Chanelle, the experience reinforced the importance of centering lived realities in decision-making. She emphasizes that communities are not simply beneficiaries of development efforts, but essential partners in shaping solutions that are responsive, equitable, and transformative.
These themes were brought to life during International Women's Day, where youth voices played a central role in community engagement. Members of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) participated in the Network of NGOs Women’s Day March, joining a wider movement of civil society actors advocating for gender equality. At Woodford Square, they hosted an interactive booth featuring the “Give to Gain” activity, where participants engaged in conversations around gender equality and gained knowledge through a gamified experience. The initiative created an accessible and engaging space for the public to reflect, learn, and connect, reinforcing the importance of youth-led advocacy in shifting mindsets and raising awareness.
Currently, Chanelle is particularly focused on addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), an issue that continues to grow as digital spaces become central to everyday life. She highlights the increasing prevalence of online harassment, non-consensual sharing of images, and digital abuse, forms of violence that often go unreported or are dismissed as less serious. However, these experiences can have real and lasting impacts on the safety, well-being, and participation of women and girls.
This growing concern also builds on momentum from the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, where efforts across the Caribbean, including UNFPA-led initiatives, have increasingly highlighted the evolving nature of gender-based violence in digital spaces. Last year’s focus helped to raise awareness that violence is no longer confined to physical environments, but extends into online spaces where many young people live, learn, and connect. In this context, addressing TFGBV is not only timely but essential to ensuring that progress on gender equality keeps pace with a rapidly changing digital world.
Despite these challenges, Chanelle remains grounded in hope; not as a passive feeling, but as something actively built through community, courage, and consistent action. She sees it in young people who are speaking up earlier, questioning harmful norms, and demanding accountability, reshaping conversations across the region.
Her message is both personal and collective:
“For all women and girls, I want them to know that their voice matters, even when it feels like they’re going against everything they’ve been taught. I want them to see themselves as capable, worthy, and unstoppable, and to never let anyone tell them otherwise.”
In amplifying voices, creating space, and challenging systems, both online and offline, Chanelle’s work reflects a broader truth: change does not begin at the highest levels alone. It begins in communities, in conversations, and in the courage to speak, even when it is difficult.
