Tuesday 31st March saw a flow of people in and out of the Gender Affairs Open Forum and Information Fair which was held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre in The Valley.
According to Ronya Foy-Connor, Gender Development Coordinator: “This forum is allowing people from all villages, all communities, all walks of life, whether government employees, private sector, or church members, to come in one setting and get the information they need on how to improve relations between men and women – for that is the ultimate goal.”
Striving to fulfill that goal was recognized on a local and regional level, because this particular event was sponsored by the Caribbean Women’s Association. Dr Foy-Connor was recently in Antigua at their workshop and they deemed it necessary to provide funds for the and holding of an informational fair for the people of Anguilla.
At the fair was a wealth of information and advice about gender affairs including domestic violence, sexual and gender-based violence, cycles of (violence and how it can be broken), information on HIV/AIDS and how it is linked to domestic violence. There was also information, among other topics, on how to motivate young men and women to strive towards success.
Members of the community attending the fair were welcomed to collect information that was of interest to them – for example, how to talk about domestic violence in their congregations and how to support women and men who are affected. There was also an interactive game that helped to explain the differences between sex and gender.
Dr Foy-Connor has been forging local and regional links in fulfilling the vision of being ‘actively committed to fostering equal and humane treatment in the daily lives of every man, woman, boy and girl and manifesting a united Anguilla.’
Locally, links have been forged with various departments such as the Governor’s Office and the Royal Anguilla Police Force, among others.
The strong presence of members and representatives of the Methodist and other churches, at the fair, speaks well of public outreach with regard to gender affairs.
The assistance of valued volunteers like Kay Ferguson and Angelina Carty, and other special supporters from elsewhere in the public and private sectors, is testament to productive links being forged. And it is all geared towards actualizing the mission of ‘promoting knowledge and awareness of gender issues, and the capacity to effect change through national outreach, advocacy, training and implementation of gender-mainstreamed policies.’
Dr Roy-Connor said that she was ready to get moving and would love to have a team – people who can be officers on the ground – going out to communities, speaking at churches and at schools. She is hoping that “our country would see the importance of gender affairs and how it is linked to our economic prosperity … and give it the necessary resources and staff that it needs, and then we can move forward.”
