8 March 2012: As part of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) celebration of International Women’s Day, CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque announced the release of public campaign products on ending violence against women.

The products, intended to support the global campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2010, include public service announcements (PSAs), jingles, a calypso and a documentary on sexual, psychological and physical violence. The materials were produced by 15 artists from Belize, Guyana and Suriname brought together in a 2011 workshop sponsored by UN Women.

In his statement delivered to mark the Day, LaRocque also announced the upcoming publication by the CARICOM Secretariat of the findings of a study by the CARICOM Advocate for Gender Justice, “Youth, Masculinities and Violence in the Caribbean.” The study, funded by UN Women and the Government of Spain, is based on research conducted in six CARICOM Member States.

Noting that this year’s theme of International Women Day is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty,” LaRocque underscored the contributionof rural women to the well-being of families, to the agricultural labor force, to communities and societies, as well as to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). [CARICOM Press Release]