Professor of Gender, Social Change and Development and Deputy Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine, Professor Rhoda Reddock was in the British Virgin Islands last week to present a Distinguished Lecture on Child Sexual Abuse. The Lecture entitled “Child Sexual Abuse and the Complexities of Gender, Power and Sexuality” was part of the UWI Institute for Gender Development Studies (IGDS) Lecture series and was a collaborative effort of the UWI Open Campus BVI and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC).
The Lecture provided some important new insights into the ways in which accepted notions of masculinity and femininity give rise to child sexual abuse and what needs to be done to address it. It was followed by a Panel Discussion/Question and Answer session moderated by Director of Cimorge Counseling & Consultation, Dr. Cindy George and panelists, Mrs. Stacie Stoutt-James, Deputy Chief Social Development Officer (Ag.), Dr. Sylvia Simmons, Executive Director, Family Support Network, as well as Professor Reddock.
Manager for the UWI Open Campus British Overseas Territories, Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks, who was in the BVI for the occasion, said that the Lecture was scheduled to coincide with the celebrations marking International Women’s Day 2017, as well as provide a lead up to the activities marking Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month in the BVI in April. It also forms part of the awareness-building movement aimed at breaking the silence and ending child abuse and gender discrimination.
In her remarks at the Lecture, President of the HLSCC, Dr. Janet D. Smith said that the College was pleased to host such an important Lecture as part of its own Spring Lecture Series, and looked forward to forging many more partnerships with the University and other institutions, as the College continues its awareness building campaign.
The UWI/IGDS regional lecture series was launched in March 2016 in commemoration of International Women’s Day, with the aim of offering solutions and responses to the differential developmental needs and realities of Caribbean people and creating a space for dialogue. The BVI is the tenth UWI Open Campus territory to participate in the series which will continue until June 2017. Belize, St. Lucia, Montserrat, Anguilla, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and have also hosted the Lectures.
The UWI BOTs Manager and the UWI are expressing thanks to the HLSCC, Dr. Smith, Mrs. Linette Baa and all the other partners for their support in hosting Professor Reddock and the IGDS Distinguished Lecture in the BVI.
– Press Release
