As part of its capacity building series, the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) recently held a two-day Legal Literacy training in Kingston on June 24 and 25 with representatives from Civil Society Organisations working with vulnerable groups.
The training was aimed at building the capacity of community stakeholders in identifying and responding to human rights breaches as well as strengthening the engagement of civil society and key population (KP) groups with law enforcement. The sessions also paid keen attention to how human rights violations can be monitored; how incidents of discrimination can be documented and redress sought. Special emphasis was placed on helping participants understand how to address Gender Based Violence. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the issue of Gender Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence, with several stories about the challenges faced by women and girls while in lockdown. That’s at least one reason the latest CVC Legal Literacy training session is so timely.
CVC Technical Programme Officer Marlon Thompson noted that the sessions were strategically designed for the CSOs involved and that a special effort was made to include organizations working with women and girls. “Legal Literacy training sessions are crucial to CVC’s strategic approach in helping CSOs to be better positioned to advocate on behalf of and defend the rights of members of the key population groups they serve. We also took into account the fact that more work needed to be done in the HIV response to address issues of Gender Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence. The training should help to fill this gap and provide organisations, working with women and girls, with the information and tools required to effectively respond to these needs as they arise.” Mr. Thompson also stressed the importance of the training during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The information we’ve shared is even more important now given issues we are seeing popping up surrounding women and girls who, because of the pandemic, are sometimes forced into lockdown with their abusers,” Thompson added.
The two-day training explored a range to topics including human rights laws and treaties, the structural barriers to key population services; steps to providing redress; protection for victims of human rights violations; monitoring breaches of human rights, as well as identifying and documenting incidents of discrimination.
Participants at the training expressed their satisfaction with the content and the value to their ongoing work. Community Liaison Officer at Transwave Jamaica Donique Givans said the training provided her with useful tools to help improve advocacy efforts on behalf of the key population groups served by the organisation. “This training was really beneficial, not just for myself but also for my organisation, Transwave Jamaica. We’ve learnt so much about laws and treaties over the past two days. By knowing these laws we’re better able to protect members of the trans community and lobby policymakers to let them know that trans lives matter,” Givans said. Joel Levy who represented the Sex Workers Association of Jamaica agreed, “It has been very effective. I grasped a lot of information to take back to my organisation in regards to human rights and how we can report violations. My organisation will benefit from this immensely because we are a human rights advocacy organisation so we will definitely benefit from this training,” he said.
Meanwhile Iesha Brownie, who represented the Jamaica Network of Seropositives at the training, pointed out that the addition of sessions focused on women and girls was welcomed. “The legal literacy training was very informative. Now, when I go back and relate to my peers, I can tell them about their rights and assist them better, by giving them better information. As persons in the HIV community and especially as women, this training has given us the tools to help us to know more about our human rights so we will be able to stand up for our rights,” she said.
CVC will hold further Legal Literacy training sessions in Belize and Trinidad and Tobago in the coming months.