TTFA and UN Women (MCO) partner in Draw the Line initiative

TTFA and UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) Caribbean Team Up to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and UN Women (MCO) Caribbean are now teammates in the fight to end violence against women and girls, recently kicking off their first partnership with the initiative, “Draw the Line Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV)” to observe 16 Days of Activism.

At the CONCACAF Women’s Road to Gold Cup qualifier between the Senior National Teams of Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, the Player Escort Mascots for both teams walked out in “Draw the Line Against Gender Based Violence” t-shirts, raising awareness on one of the most pervasive human rights challenges in the world today.

Speaking before the game, Planning and Coordination Specialist at UN Women MCO Caribbean, Je’nille Maraj said: “Partnerships between development agencies, the government, the private sector, and sporting institutions like the TTFA with its significant influence on sports people and young sporting fans are critically important to combatting sexism and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), given sports demonstrated tremendous potential to foster gender equality and address the conditions at the root of VAWG.”

Ms. Maraj also revealed that according to UN Women MCO Caribbean data, 44% of women in Trinidad and Tobago have experienced over their lifetime, a form of intimate partner violence. That is almost one in every two women.

TTFA’s General Secretary, Amiel Mohammed commented on the partnership saying, “The TTFA is really proud to be able to partner with UN Women (MCO Caribbean) and even prouder to be able to have this initiative of drawing the line against GBV. Showing our support for the 16 Days of Activism against GBV through the United Nations is a focus of ours, and when this opportunity came up with the match window being in and around the same time, it seemed a perfect fit. We are really happy that the Senior Women’s National team was able to support, UN Women was able to support and the TTFA at large were all able to put together our resources to ensuring that this was publicized in the best way and it is our intention to continue to have initiatives, education and other PR initiatives in 2024.”

VAWG is rooted in discrimination, and harmful cultural and social norms that normalize all forms of violence, including violence against women. Therefore, advocacy and awareness in all sectors are critical to the comprehensive approach to ending VAWG.

16 Days of Activism against GBV is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of VAWG.

The EU-UN Spotlight Initiative is one way in which the comprehensive approach has been adopted, for instance through the joint UN Women and UNESCO handbook “Tackling Violence against Women and Girls in Sport: A Handbook for Policymakers and sports practitioners,” and UN Women’s partnership with the Caribbean Football Union which supported capacity-building for CFU staff to enable them to be effective advocates for gender equality, human rights, and health and wellbeing of young female footballers in the member countries of the CFU.

UN Women MCO Caribbean is committed to supporting the TTFA to foster an environment and culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion in sport. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, expressed its appreciation to the TTFA for its visible and public commitment and looks forward to TTFA’s continued commitment to raise awareness and further, taking steps to end VAWG in sport.

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About UN Women

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girl. https://caribbean.unwomen.org