Date
The National Policy on Gender and Development is designed to foster gender equality within the context of national development and is consistent with the Government’s development strategy. The National Policy on Gender and Development is premised on a thorough analysis of the development situation in Trinidad and Tobago to ascertain the needs and priorities of men and women and girls and boys, as well as the inequalities they face in opportunities and outcomes. The impact of the Policy would be informed by two main approaches, namely specific sectoral measures, and the inclusion of gender as a cross-cutting theme in all sectors. Mainstreaming will be the process used to identify, take full account of and integrate the needs and interests of women and men, and girls and boys into relevant policies, strategies and administrative and financial activities within the sectors.
General Objectives
i) Full and equal participation of women and men and girls and boys in the development process;
ii) Systematic use of gender analysis, an understanding of the different realities, opportunities, needs and interests of men, women, boys and girls;
iii) Utilization of gender planning, taking into account the gaps between women’s and men’s access to economic, social, political and cultural resources, and putting in place policies, plans and programmes to correct these imbalances;
iv) Implementation of gender-responsive budgeting, and the equitable allocation of financial and human resources to address gender imbalances in all sectors and at all levels; and
v) Equitable, effective and sustainable outcomes of national development strategies.
Beneficiaries
All citizens. Men, women, boys and girls
Country
Type
Specific to the action or instrument
Responsible institution
Topics / Chapters
Main Priority Measure
D.33 - Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights
Promote, protect and guarantee sexual health and rights and reproductive rights in order to contribute to the fulfilment of persons and to social justice in a society free from all forms of discrimination and violence.
D.36 - Eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Design policies and programmes to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the exercise of sexual rights and the manifestations thereof.
D.37 - Universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services
Guarantee universal access to good-quality sexual health and reproductive health services, bearing in mind the specific needs of men and women, adolescents and young people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, older persons and persons with disabilities, with special attention to vulnerable persons, persons living in rural and remote areas and to the promotion of citizen participation in the follow-up to commitments.
E.47 - Institutional mechanisms for women's autonomy and gender equality
Fulfil the commitment to strengthen institutional machineries in order to build development policies with equality that will guarantee the autonomy of women and gender equality, and give these machineries the autonomy and the necessary human and financial resources to enable them to have a cross-cutting impact on the structure of the State, recognizing the strategic role that they play and establishing them at the highest level.
E.48 - Equal participation of women in high-level decision-making
Fulfil the commitment to increase and enhance opportunities for the equal participation of women in adopting and implementing policies in all spheres of public authority and in high-level decision-making.
E.49 - Gender approach in the preparation, implementation and accountability of budgets
Take steps to promote and strengthen the preparation, implementation and accountability of gender-sensitive budgets, in order to achieve equal spending in the public sector, the inclusion of the principles of gender equality in the different stages of planning, budgeting and meeting the specific social needs of women and men.
E.50 - Public policies with a gender perspective
Fulfil the commitment to promote and ensure gender mainstreaming and its intersection with perspectives on race, ethnicity, age, social class and disability status in all public policies, especially in economic and cultural policies, and coordination between branches of government and social stakeholders, including organizations of young, Afro-descendent or indigenous women, to ensure gender equality.
E.51 - Gender parity and mechanisms that guarantee access to power. of women, in electoral processes
Promote parity and other mechanisms to ensure access to power in electoral systems as a precondition for democracy and a target for eradicating the structural exclusion of women in society, which affects mainly those in vulnerable situations, by training women leaders.
E.52 - Prevent, punish and eradicate political and administrative harassment against women
Adopt legislative measures and institutional reforms to prevent, punish and eradicate political and administrative harassment of women who reach decision-making positions through electoral means or by appointment at national and local levels, as well as in political parties and movements.
E.53 - Policies and care services
Develop and strengthen policies and universal care services based on the highest human rights standards, from a gender equality and intergenerational perspective, in order to share the delivery of services between the State, the private sector, civil society, families and households and between men and women and facilitate dialogue and coordination between all the parties involved.
E.54 - Labor equality
Promote legislation and design and strengthen public policies on equality in the labour market in order to eliminate gender discrimination and asymmetries in relation to access to decent employment, job security, wages and decision-making on labour issues, as well as to recognize the productive value of unpaid domestic work and care work.
E.55 - Participation of women in decision-making and high-level positions
Strengthen the participation of women in high-level and decision-making positions in companies and support the training of men and women during hours that are compatible with their family life, and encourage businesswomen to adopt leadership roles.
E.56 - Protection against harassment and sexual harassment
Establish mechanisms for preventing sexual and other forms of harassment and violence against women and men, especially in the workplace and educational settings, as well as for filing relevant complaints and punishing such practices.
E.57 - Eradication of all forms of violence
Enforce existing policies and adopt, on the one hand, preventative and punitive measures, and on the other measures for protecting and caring for women in order to eradicate all forms of violence, including forced sterilization and stigma against women in public and private spheres and especially the gender-motivated violent murder of girls and women, and ensure effective and universal access to fundamental services for all victims and survivors of gender-based violence, with special attention to women in high-risk situations, such as older women, pregnant women, women with disabilities, culturally diverse groups, sex workers, women living with HIV/AIDS, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, Afro-descendent, indigenous and migrant women, women living in border areas, asylum-seekers and victims of trafficking.
E.58 - Justice with a gender perspective
Reaffirm the commitment and political will of Latin America and the Caribbean, at the highest level, to combat and eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women, including domestic violence and femicide/feminicide, and actively promote awareness-raising regarding gender mainstreaming among law enforcement personnel.
E.60 - Reduction of disparities in the education system
Develop and strengthen plans and programmes for addressing disparities in the representation and performance of boys and young men in the education system, especially in the English-speaking Caribbean.
E.62 - Recognition of the contribution of women to social development
Improve statistical systems, official indicators and administrative records, mainstreaming the gender perspective and advancing towards the full recognition of women’s economic and social contribution to the development of society.
E.63 - Gender statistics
Strengthen the capacity of countries to prepare and disseminate the gender statistics needed for the formulation of public policies on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
E.64 - Unpaid work in systems of national accounts
Consider measuring the care economy using specialized accounts and the creation of satellite accounts on unpaid work, and the incorporation of such accounts in the system of national accounts.
E.65 - Specialized care in cases of violence
Implement, with the support of available technologies, multisectoral, comprehensive, integrated, coordinated, interdisciplinary and accessible services, programmes and actions targeting women that are sustainable at all levels, include specialized and confidential care in cases of violence, have sufficient resources available and that bring together sectors such as the police, the judiciary, medical and psychological services and evaluation, including sexual and reproductive health services, as well as opportunities for training and generating earnings, with a view to promoting women’s autonomy in all its forms.