Mainstreaming Gender Analysis in HIV Programmes in the Caribbean - Building Sector Capacity

UNIFEM, working in consultation with the Caribbean Inter-Agency Working Group on Gender and HIV, has undertaken a project aimed at deepening the gender analysis and human rights skills and competencies of planners and programmers engaged in HIV/AIDS work within the health, education and community organisations at the national level.

The project also seeks to extend sector-specific technical support to gender mainstreaming, in particular to the implementation of activities prioritising prevention and anti-stigma and discrimination approaches. Components of this project include gender training of persons working in the HIV, reproductive health and gender equality areas both from the state and non-governmental sector. In addition, UNIFEM has also been able to support the incorporation of gender analysis in the formulation of national strategic plans in a number of countries.

Click here to download - HIV and Gender Mainstreaming Technical Guide

Ongoing Research: Caribbean Sexual Cultures
UNIFEM, in partnership with the Center for Gender Studies St Augustine T&T, UWI HIV/AIDS Response Programme Cavehill Barbados Foundation Ultimate Purpose in Suriname and York University in Toronto Canada, with support from IDRC and UNICEF, is currently conducting research on Caribbean sexual culture in Trinidad, Suriname & Barbados. Activities include: dissemination

This research project will result in a deeper understanding of the dynamics between sexual cultures, gender relations, and HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. In contrast to strict biomedical or epidemiological approaches, this research is premised on awareness that unequal gender relations are central to explaining the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. This is especially important since young Caribbean women are believed to be the most vulnerable group in the spread and transmission of HIV/AIDS. The research will examine Caribbean sexual cultures, focusing on the regions political economy and social norms. It will pay special attention to how sexual cultures impact on women's sexual agency, and how they inform existing policy and programs for HIV/AIDS prevention. The project employs concepts of sexual rights, vulnerability, and empowerment to explore the lived realities of young women and girls in the Caribbean. The research will take place in three countries (Barbados, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago). The outcomes are intended to inform gender-responsive human rights-based policy for HIV/AIDS prevention through multi-sector policy and programme support.

Click here to download - Gender, Sexuality and HIV in the Caribbean

Human Rights and Sex Work in the Caribbean

Globally, sex workers are regarded as highly vulnerable groups in the discourse around HIV&AIDS. A review of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework for HIV&AIDS of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV&AIDS (PANCAP), as well as select Caribbean national strategic plans for HIV&AIDS, also indicate that sex workers are among the vulnerable populations. However, without a gender analysis, the nuances of this vulnerability remain unaddressed.

Through the Unified Budget and Workplan (UBW) facility provided by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to the Caribbean Group on HIV&AIDS, UNIFEM is undertaking a Legal and Policy Analysis of Sex Work in selected Caribbean countries Caribbean. The project aims to highlight the multiple vulnerabilities of sex workers in the Caribbean, and to provide technical support for the development of rights-based, integrated policy responses to address gender, cultural and socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Click here to download - Legal Analysis of Sex Work in the Caribbean