NWC conducts validation session to review gender-based violence in Belize

Belize: Belize's National Women's Commission- NWC, in a press release on Wednesday, informed that the Board of Commissioners of the National Women's Commission participated in a review session to examine the gender-based violence response in the island country.

The review session took place at the Charter House in Belize City, which was led by Executive Director - Cynthia Williams and Program Officer Eleanor Murillo.

In the validation session, the outcomes and outputs in its first phase of the validation & consultation process of the draft Revised Gender Policy and draft National Gender-based Violence Action Plan were reviewed by the NWC's Board of Commissioners. NWC asserted that Belize's ongoing gender-based violence response had been strengthened with funding from the Spotlight Initiative, an organization that works to end every cruel practice against girls and as well as women.

NWC cited, "Findings of the evaluation would not only inform & support efforts aiming at stronger policy frameworks that respond to family violence but also use its findings develop an improved gender policy with solid institutional arrangements for its delivery and a revised NGBV Action Plan."

The Commission further added that as a co-ordinating mechanism of the national gender & gender-based violence response is accountable for leading the process and assuring that stakeholders across governmental and non-governmental sectors are involved in this first phase using working groups, focus groups, surveys, and vital individual interviews.

President of NWC – Thea Garcia Ramirez, Vice President – Marissa Cervantes Martin, Secretary – Dorla Vaughan, and other administrators such as - Wendy Williams, Dr Lesly Perez, Major Jonathan Kellman, Anthony Sabal, Aurelia Cal, & Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative – CEO Kim Aikman attended the validation session of NWC.

Earlier, this year a complete evaluation of the National Gender Policy 2013 & the National Gender-based Violence - NGBV Action Plan 2017 – 2020 was done by the NWC with the help of a consultant.

NWC has informed that validation & consultation sessions with the government and non-government Stakeholders would also be conducted soon.