Caribbean

The MCO continued to build on its efforts to advocate for and build the capacities of Regional governments and national gender machineries (NGMs) in the collection and monitoring of data on the SDGs related to gender equality and women�s empowerment. In 2024, the focus was specifically on SDG 5.4.1: Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, and SDG Indicator 5.c.1: Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations to gender equality and women�s empowerment. 13 CARICOM countries were extensively desk reviewed by the MCO to determine capacities to measure Indicator 5.c.1. The analysis concluded that while countries were ar varying levels of readiness, Greneda fully meets the critieria to track. In addition to the aforementioned success, through UN Women MCO�s technical and administrative support, Grenada also piloted three stylized retrospective questions in the Grenada Labour Force Survey to generate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 5.4.1. Barbados and Montserrat are also now better equipped to collect and analyze data on SDG 5.4.1. This achievement resulted from the recently concluded Joint SDG Fund Programme for the Integrated Population Data and Policy Solutions; a collaboration between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women MCO Caribbean in partnership with government and civil society stakeholders. UN Women specific delivery included: Technical guidance and training tools on the measurement of SDG indicator 5.4.1, provided to the Montserrat Statistics Department in 2023. As a direct result of this support, and strengthened capacity, Montserrat�s data collection on this indicator was successfully implemented through their national census in Q4 of that year. In 2024, UN Women further supported the Department with analysing the data on unpaid domestic and care work and preparing a report on the results. Piloting the Measurement of SDG Indicator 5.4.1 was implemented in 2024. Barbados for the first time produced nationally representative and publicly available data on unpaid domestic and care work, through technical guidance and training provided by the MCO. Support was also received by Women Count through the Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean.At the High Level Policy Dialogue on Gender Equality and the Care Economy, the government of Barbados committed to making the measurement of SDG 5.4.1 a permanent feature in future surveys, and establishing the Statistics and Data Analytics Authority by 2025 to advance statistical adoption. Barbados: Piloting the Measurement of SDG Indicator 5.4.1 in Barbados | Publications | UN Women � Multi-Country Office � Caribbean Grenada: Piloting the Measurement of SDG Indicator 5.4.1 in Grenada Using the Labour Force Survey | Publications | UN Women � Multi-Country Office � CaribbeanBarbados and Montserrat Strengthen Data Capacity for Health and Social Policies Through Joint SDG Fund Programme | Joint SDG Fund

In 2023 the MCO Caribbean was able to deliver on the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework Outcome 7 Regional and national laws, policies, systems and institutions improve access to justice and promote peace, social cohesion and security, reflecting the direct alignment of UN Women�s work to the MSCDF and by extension the SDGs. As a result of UN Women�s work in the Jamaica Spotlight Initiative the Government of Jamaica passed the Domestic Violence Amendment Act (2023) providing greater protection to victims of domestic violence. The legislative change was led by the Minister of Gender, Culture, Entertainment and Sport and informed also by a legislative review as well as capacity strengthening sessions by UN Women and ParlAmericas on legislative change including specific sessions on laws and policies, highlighting gaps in the previous legislation. These efforts also resulted in the Parliament of Jamaica establishing a Bicameral Caucus of Women parliamentarians. In Trinidad and Tobago as a result of UN Women led efforts as part of the Spotlight Initiative the Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago approved the National Strategic Action Plan on Gender Based Violence and Sexual Violence 2023 -2027 (NSAP GBV & SV),the country�s first costed comprehensive VAW prevention and response strategy.The structure strategy is organized around prevention, protection, prosecution, punishment and the effective provision of redress for victims and survivors, including children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. This plan includes specialized services for key populations and localized programming. The Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Gender and Child Affairs, the PS and the team at Gender and Child Affairs led the initiative to its successful approval. The Official launch for the NSAP GBV and SV will be in March 2024. As a result of UN Women�s interventions during the Grenada Spotlight Initiative Gender Responsive Budgeting was mainstreamed by Government in 2023 for application in the 2024 budget with �all line ministries providing expenditure estimates that adequately reflect gender priorities and considerations.� This exceeded the target from four (4) Ministries to all twenty-eight (28) ministries and departments of Government and promises to be the most systematic way to sustain the results and take further action on GEWE and EVAWG. Sub-Regional Level At the 48th Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians of CARICOM endorsed the MCO-Caribbean commissioned CARICOM Guidelines and Protocols on the Collection and Use of Administrative Data on VAWG. The MCO Caribbean commissioned the research under Pillar 5 data programming of the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme. These will enable CARICOM Member States to strengthen their accountability functions and allow them to assess whether services meet minimum standards for service provision in the health, justice, police and social services sectors.