Gender Affairs Department Children
The Girl Child
Over the past decade the Federation has been party to several treaties, and declarations expressing its commitment to the eradication of gender discrimination and the full integration of women and girls in the developmental process.
The declarations and conventions include the Beijing Platform for Action + 5, the Convention on the Rights of the child and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The goal of the Beijing Platform for Action is the empowerment of women. A critical area of concerns is the persistent discrimination against, and violation of the rights of the girl child. To address this discrimination, a number of objectives were pursued including Strategic objective 1.3 which speaks to the promotion and protection of the rights of the girl-child and to the improved awareness of her needs and potential. The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has agreed to undertake a number of initiatives which include the development of policies and programmes that give priority to formal and informal education programmes that support girls and enable them to acquire knowledge, develop self-esteem and take responsibility for their own lives.
The Platform for Action also speaks to the elimination of discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training. The government of St. Kitts and Nevis has agreed to ensure universal and equal access to and completion of primary education by all children and to eliminate the existing gap between girls and boys, as stipulated in article 28 of the convention on the Rights of the Child. In St. Kitts and Nevis Women have outnumbered men at the tertiary level of education. Only in the technical Division of the local College is the enrollment of males greater than that of females.
The Government is also to ensure equal access to secondary and higher education, vocational and technical education, for all girls and boys, including the disadvantaged and differently abled. Regarding the education of adolescent mothers, the Beijing Platform for Action prohibits discriminatory practices that have, in the past, prevented teen mothers from returning to school. Legislation has also been strengthened, to protect girls from sexual abuse.
The Department of Gender Affairs, which has major responsibility for monitoring and improving the status of women and the girl child, has ensured the implementation of the above conventions. Measures taken by Government to ensure their implementation include the enactment of legislation, criminalizing the impregnation of adolescent girls and the implementation of a Cabinet Policy Decision to officially return adolescent mothers to school and to provide supportive services with the support of UNICEF.
Prior to 1997, teen mothers were only allowed to return to school at the discretion of the principal and the Chief Education Officer. In September 1997, The Project Viola Teen Mothers Programme, was established through Cabinet. The United Nations Children’s Fund has shown a keen interest in Project Viola over the years and has recognized it as a Social Service best practice within the region. This programme was designed to ensure that teen mothers who return to school have the necessary support to make the most of this opportunity. In November, 2002, to better enable teen mothers to complete their education, the Department of Gender Affairs along with its social partners provided an array of support services which include the provision of Day Care, Clinical Counselling, assistance with Legal Issues, Advocacy and stipends to assist with day care and after school activities. Workshops were also offered in the areas of career and personal development, parenting and skills training. Participants could also complete a job Attachment. The Department continues to deliver an annual four-week career training programme during the summer, which includes a two-week work attachment, one week of career and personal development and one week in sexual and reproductive health. The private sector has also supported teen mothers through scholarships for those who have successfully completed their secondary education and wish to purse tertiary level education.
Since 1997, A large number of teen mothers have graduated from high school, many of whom have been able to pursue tertiary level education. The programme is now in its 17th year and has enjoyed an impressive degree of success, which is evident in the testimonials and achievements of former participants, who have pursued careers in medicine, teaching, nursing, accounting, business administration and one participant who has ventured in the non-traditional area of welding.
However, the programme has not been without its share of challenges, which includes a small number of repeated pregnancies. Although the vast majority of our citizens have accepted adolescent mothers as part of the student population, there remain some cases of stigma and discrimination.
The Department of Gender Affairs would like to record its deepest appreciation to all of its local and international social partners and looks forward to their continued support, as a programme of this nature benefits the individual, families, communities and the Federation as a whole.