The Government of Jamaica, through the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA) in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport signed a new partnership with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to address gender-based violence (GBV). 

The agreement dated June 2022 aims to continue the collaboration that is focused on empowering women by providing access to available, readily accessible, quality, essential services for long-term recovery. 

This partnership supports the work that has already started with the establishment and operationalization of a helpline and two  State-run shelters for survivors of GBV. This collaboration is successful also thanks to the coordinated work with other government agencies and civil society organizations instrumental in supporting women and girls experiencing GBV across the island, in the health, justice, police, and social services sectors. As a matter of fact, thanks to the coordinated work, survivors accessing the shelters or calling the helplines will receive assistance from trained staff guaranteeing their safety and confidentiality and providing them all the information needed to make informed decisions. The trained provider will offer survivors first psychological aid and facilitate their access to a wide range of services, based on their specific needs and choices.

Elga Salvador, the GBV Specialist at UNFPA, believes this is another critical step in fighting GBV in Jamaica. “This initiative is significant because it permits us to continue supporting Jamaican institutions in the improvement of the services offered to survivors of gender-based violence through the helplines and shelters,”  she said. “The initiative paves the way in providing even more comprehensive quality support for survivors of GBV and to guarantee sustainability beyond the Spotlight Initiative.”

The signing of the partnership agreement also involved the handover to the BGA of 100 dignity kits for survivors accessing the shelters. Each kit includes clothing, grooming, and sanitary items, needed by women who had to flee with no personal items from a dangerous abusive situation.

The Spotlight Initiative, funded by the European Union, aims to end violence against women and girls. UNFPA SROC is leading Pillar 4 of the Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica, which has as its main outcome to deliver quality essential services for survivors of gender-based violence. In this framework, support is offered to the BGA, other ministries, departments and agencies, as well as CSOs in improving their service delivery, in line with international quality standards collected in the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence and with the National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence in Jamaica (NSAP-GBV).