The Gender Affairs Division within the Ministry of National Mobilization, Social Development Youth, Sports and Culture in collaboration with UNIFEM and the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police is implementing a project on “Strengthening State Accountability and Community Action for Ending Gender-Based Violence in the Caribbean”.{{more}}

The project focuses specifically on reducing violence against women, through the strategies of increasing state actor competencies and strengthening accountability. The stated developmental objective of the project is to end gender-based violence through strengthened and responsive state and civil society actions; one of the specific objectives is the building of technical competencies of the justice and security sectors based on an understating of the causes and consequences of the current deficits.

This Draft Baseline Study Report represents one component of the wider project. The specific purpose of the Baseline study is to understand the reasons for low conviction rates in respect of sexual assault in St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and to consider what legislative, policy, policing and prosecutorial changes might be considered to make it more likely that offenders will be punished and to minimize the trauma of the prosecution process for sexual assault victims.

The Gender Affairs Division conducted a National Consultation of the Draft Report yesterday, March 10, 2011.