By the Caribbean Journal staff

St Lucia’s government has launched an island-wide initiative to curb domestic and gender-based violence in the country.

The “Violence Is Not An Option” campaign is part of a wider project led by the country’s Division of Gender Relations, in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

“‘The Violence Is Not An Option’ was geared at bringing young persons of secondary school age together to include them in the dialogue on gender-based violence in St Lucia,” said Chams Gaspard, Director of Gender Relations.

According to Gaspard, the initiative targeted all secondary schools on the island.

“We know that addressing the issue of gender-based violence requires a holistic approach, and so we felt it was very important to bring young persons who perhaps themselves have witnessed the violence within their own family setting, within the schools, in the environment in which they live, to bring them in as part of the discussion and to empower them — to make them aware of what the violence really entails,” Gaspard said.