Martinez leads fight in ensuring women are protected

Speaking at the Office of the Mayor in Port-of-Spain, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Development) Ayanna Webster-Roy, thanked Martinez and his office for joining the ground-breaking campaign.

“Each signature today demonstrates the strength of the males in our society and sends a strong message that violence in any form would not be tolerated in such a progressive society in which the rights of men and women are valued and respected,” Webster-Roy said.

Webster-Roy said the signing of the proclamation was not another document to be signed, “but a collective and personal commitment to end violence against the fairer sex.” She said if all men in TT would embrace an initiative like the HeForShe Campaign, gender equality would be realised, making women’s stories matter and promoting real and tangible acti ons.

“Imagine the signal you are sending to the younger generation.

Imagine the message to the school boys who only see violence in their homes but now can plainly see men saying no to violence. Consider the image birthed in the mind of a young girl seeing you, who could have been her grandfather, father or brother, signing a document that has the potential to save her life.” She continued, “Imagine the feeling of joy this brings to our children, to know that there are men and women who want to protect and guard them from harm. Who love and value them and who are clearly stating that ‘this bad man thing can’t work’. What a positive, robust message this would send, the change it would engender, the hope it would bring.” She said there is no way any discrimination can be stopped until all players are acting with the same purpose.

“For us to create a lasting change, men cannot be absent from this debate. Men are part of the problem, but also part of the solution. We at the Office of the Prime Minister will continue the open dialogue on gender-based violence.” Webster-Roy added, “ We will continue to partner strategically with Non-Governmental Organisations and Faithbased Organisations to implement measures that are key to women’s empowerment. We are also deeply committed to building research capacity to systematically and responsibly fulfil the dictates of our mandate.”