Have you ever been out in public, just going about your day, when someone suddenly shouts an insult, a catcall, a sexual remark, or something that’s supposed to be a compliment—but it feels more like an attack?
Well, the Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs, addressed this issue at its ‘Chalk Back’ event on Friday, offering a method to respond to that negative feeling.
Chalk Back is a global movement working to end gender-based street harassment through chalk art, education, and advocacy.
Here at home, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Kurt Mayer, said this event was the last of the Ministry’s International Women’s Day events.
“Today we are using art in a public show of our support and empowerment to all women and girls. Today we are using chalk to give members of the general public, including our gifted youths, a voice to be heard.”
PS Mayer said the initiative was not a one-off event but was just one of the Ministry’s many programmes.
“On Wednesday, we launched the Women, Peace and Security National Plan, which recognises the burden women and girls bear in cases of gang and gun violence. It endorses women and girls as critical agents of change in creating a safer and more secure nation.”
Coordinator of the Institute of Gender Studies Development’s Ignite Project, Jade Trimm, said the Chalk Back events are regularly held at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus.
“You can’t accelerate action without addressing the obvious inequalities and differences in experiences of violence. Violence is a very gendered thing in our region. Even in Trinidad, one in three women experience some form of sexual violence.”
The Chalk Back Non-Profit Organisation has been operating in Trinidad and Tobago since 2019.