NASSAU, The Bahamas – Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, told a virtual meeting of Regional Ministers of Government, and senior government officials, that they must ensure that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries “build back stronger” from the COVID-19 Pandemic, with gender equality and social justice at the core of that recovery.

Minister Campbell was addressing the 40th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Gender in The Bahamas’ capacity as Chair of the 40th Meeting, which took place June 3-4. The Meeting was held under the theme: “Strengthening Gender Equality in COVID-19 Response and Recovery in the Community.” COHSOD is a CARICOM body that consists of Government Ministers of Member States. The Council is responsible for the promotion of human and social development throughout the Caribbean Community.

Minister Campbell was joined in the virtual meeting by the Hon. Ayanna Webster-Roy, Minister for Gender and Child Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Hon. Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Jamaica.

The Bahamas’ designation as Chair of the 40th Meeting comes as the Department of Gender and Family Affairs celebrates the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Women’s Desk in The Bahamas in 1981. The Desk was later expanded to the Women’s Affairs Unit, then to the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and to its current designation as the Department of Gender and Family Affairs (DGFA) in 2016.

The celebrations were launched on Sunday (May 31) with a Church Service at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Baillou Hill Road, during a collaborative effort between the Women’s Ministries at Mt. Calvary and the Department of Gender and Family Affairs. Women leaders from Non-Governmental and/or Non-Profit Organizations such as the National Women’s Advisory Council (NWAC), Zonta, the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership (CIWIL) Bahamas, Women United, Sister, Sister Breast Cancer Support Group, the Pilot Club of Nassau, and Civil Society were among those who participated in the Service. Officials from the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, the Department of Social Services, and the Secretariat of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, were also in attendance.

Minister Campbell spoke to the significance of The Bahamas serving as Chair of the 40th COHSOD Meeting in the same year the Department of Gender and Family Affairs observes 40 years since the establishment of the Women’s Desk – as part of a global decision by countries who are Member States of the United Nations.

The Bahamas’ delegation included Dr. Jacinta Higgs, Director, the Department of Gender and Family Affairs; Mr. Celsus A. Williams, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms. Elaine Sands, Gender Expert, Department of Gender and Family Affairs; Mr. Henry Johnson, Male Programme, Department of Gender and Family Affairs and Miss Torree Musgrove, Research Analyst, Department of Gender and Family Affairs. Representatives from the country’s Non-Governmental/Non-Profit Organizations that work closely with the Department of Gender and Family Affairs enjoyed Observer status.

“Forty years ago, countries around the world formed their Women’s Desks and 40 years later ours here in The Bahamas has evolved from the Desk, to the Women’s Affairs Unit, to the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and now to the Department of Gender and Family Affairs where both men and women are represented in the Department and matters relative to both men and women are being addressed to ensure that the partnerships that are necessary to create strong families, strong communities, and a strong nation, are all being worked on simultaneously,” Minister Campbell said.

“I am honoured to assume the Chair of this important meeting on behalf of the Government and the People of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This very pertinent COHSOD theme must be understood within the wider context of the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – observed in 2020 -- which is the most comprehensive roadmap ever devised to achieve gender equality. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Five on Gender Equality also frames the deliberations of this Council over the next two days.”

Implemented in 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action affirm that equality between women and men is a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and is also a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development, and peace. The Platform for Action imagines a world where women and girls can exercise their freedom and choice, and at the same time realize all of their rights, such as the right to live free from violence, the right to attend school, the right to participate in decisions and the right to earn equal pay for equal work.

The Beijing Platform for Action flagged 12 key areas where urgent action was needed to ensure greater equality and opportunities for women and men and girls and boys. It also laid out concrete ways for countries to bring about change.

“These frameworks, among others, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which are foundational to achieving gender equality, should guide our response and recovery from the multi-dimensional and differential impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and related socio-economic crisis,” Minister Campbell told his audience.

“Failure to be so guided will only serve to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities such as violence against women and girls, sexual harassment, the undue burden of care work, unemployment and under-employment, lack of childcare and poor health outcomes, especially among the most vulnerable. These include women with disabilities, and poor, rural, women and girls who often suffer multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.”

Minister Campbell said the theme was: “Timely and topical and makes it clear that our experiences here are being shared across the region and throughout the world, and so it is a good opportunity for us to come together as a region to share those experiences, to share best practices as usual and to determine how best we are able to assist each other.”

The Social Services Minister reminded his audience of a 2020 International Labour Organization (ILO) Study on the COVID-19 Pandemic that showed that social protection measures are key to enabling families to get out of poverty – especially women who are often trapped in a cycle of seasonal, short-term employment and low-paying jobs/work. Minister Campbell has repeatedly advised regional and international counterparts and agencies of the efforts the Government of The Bahamas has undertaken in this regard, particularly as it relates to equitable, quality, and affordable Early Childhood education and childcare services that are geared towards alleviating childcare concerns for working mothers among several other measures implemented by the Government of The Bahamas.  (The ILO Study shows that the Pandemic threatens to push 47million women and girls in Latin America and the Caribbean below the poverty line.)

“Social Protection floors can be powerful tools for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women in keeping with the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Minister Campbell said. “It is also crucial to recognize that investments in, and the provision of, equitable, quality and affordable Early Childhood Education and Childcare Services, are crucial in enabling women to enter and remain in the labour market.”

Minister Campbell said: “As we, together, chart a course to enable our region – so blessed with pristine ecosystems and a creative, resilient people -- to rebound from the current crisis, we must ensure that we build back stronger, with gender equality and social justice at the core of our recovery. This inclusive approach, coupled with transformational measures such as gender-responsive budgeting, will lead to better outcomes for all of society.”

Representatives of regional and international organizations, Directors of Gender Affairs and other officials from across the region, staff members of the CARICOM Secretariat, development partners from the United Nations, and other invited guests, also participated in Day One of the Meeting.