The Gender Equality Committee of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) will be doing all in its power to sensitise members of the public about violence when it joins forces with the Bureau of Gender Affairs and other partners in observing International Women’s Day on March 8.
This is when the committee convenes two activities at Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St. Michael.
From Friday, March 6, to Sunday, March 8, a “Clothes Line” will be hung with various colours and pieces of clothing carrying messages denouncing all types of violence.
On Sunday, March 8, at 4:30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion on the topic: “End the Violence – Celebrate the Women”. Panellists will be Mary Thompson of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, Programme Officer at the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Patricia Hackett-Codrington; Robert Jones of the Royal Barbados Police Force and a psychologist.
Meanwhile, in a leaflet specially printed for the Day, the Gender Equality Committee of the BWU stressed that celebrating Barbadian women “does not only mean savouring their successes, which have been many, but also empowering women, especially working women, by negotiating equal pay for work of equal value”.
The Committee said in times of economic crises women were usually the first to experience pay cuts, lay-offs, or part-time work. “The consequent feelings of helplessness and insecurity result in increased dependence on others for their survival and increased incidents of all forms of violence against women,” the handout stated.
It underscored the fact that “equality for women will benefit the entire society”.