Open letter to Senator St. Rose Greaves

AN OPEN LETTER TO:

Senator the Honourable Verna St. Rose Greaves
Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development

Dear Senator St. Rose Greaves,
We are the CatchAFyah Caribbean Feminist Network and we are a collective of young, passionate Caribbean activists and organisations. We span the Caribbean, representing such nations as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We are farmers, social workers, artists, social entrepreneurs, counsellors, researchers, teachers and students. We work for social and economic justice and empowerment, particularly gender equity and women’s rights. We stand against discrimination of any kind, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

We are therefore pleased at your public show of support for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and the rights of the LGBTQ community. We recognise the tremendous courage it takes to speak publicly on issues that are controversial and that people would rather ignore. In speaking openly, you have demonstrated true leadership and a commitment to the rights of marginalised groups that far outweigh any potential opposition.

In addition, we join you in condemning the lack of adequate response to all forms of child abuse and in particular the sexual abuse of Caribbean girls and boys. We lend our collective voices to breaking the silence on this issue and we pledge to work in our communities, nationally and regionally to ensure that Caribbean children’s right to life free of abuse is made reality. This is on-going work to which we commit ourselves, in partnership with progressive political leadership in the region.

As you move forward in your social justice work, know that you are not alone. We stand in solidarity with you and we laud your courage and conviction. Always remain cognizant that your words and actions tangibly impact the lives of many Caribbean citizens. Although naysayers and detractors sometimes appear the loudest and most visible, remember that we are listening and we support you. We look forward to your continued action and leadership on these very important issues.

Yours gratefully,

CatchAFyah Caribbean Feminist Network
www.about.me/CatchAFyah
CatchAFyahNetwork [at] gmail [dot] com

Tonya Haynes (Barbados)
CODE RED for gender justice!
redforgender [at] gmail [dot] com

Sherlina Nageer (Guyana)
Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Red Thread
ssnageer[at] yahoo [dot] com

Patrice Daniel (Barbados)

Rashida Beckles (Barbados)

KizzyAnn Abraham (Grenada)
Grenada National Organization of Women

Kenita Placide (St. Lucia)
United and Strong Inc.
unitedandstrongslu[at] yahoo [dot] com

Zahra Jacobs (St. Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago)
Addfyahandstir

Asha Challenger (Antigua & Barbuda)
Addfyahandstir

Malaika Brooks-Smith-Lowe (Grenada)
Groundation Grenada Action Collective
Groundationgrenada[at] gmail [dot] com

Tracey-Ann Lewis (Jamaica)
Women for Women
womenforwomen1999[at] gmail [dot] com

Amina Doherty (Antigua & Barbuda)
FRIDA Young Feminist Fund

Georgia Love (Jamaica)
BeCon

Satira Maharaj (Trinidad & Tobago)

Fatimah Jackson (Barbados & Canada)

Zahra Airall (Antigua & Barbuda)
Women of Antigua

Valerie Chadic (Haiti)

Sanyu Phillips (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Tara Wilkinson (Barbados)
CODE RED for Gender Justice!
redforgender[at] gmail [dot] com

Ifasina Efunyemi (Belize)
ifasina@[at] gmail [dot] com
Productive Organization for Women in Action (POWA)
powa2grow[at] gmail [dot] com

Flavia Cherry

CAFRA St. Lucia

Women’s Health Advocacy Network (Barbados)

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

Paula Fraser (Guyana)
SASOD

Warren Chanansingh (Trinidad and Tobago)
warren.chanansingh@hotmail.com
The Silver Lining Foundation, Project Coordinator

Vidyaratha Kissoon (Guyana)
vidyak1@gmail.com

Michelle Bobala
York University, Canada
Red Thread, Guyana

Samaria Deonauth (Guyana)

Jacqueline Bevilaqua (Trinidad and Tobago)

Stella Ramsaroop (Guyana)
S4 Foundation
stellasays@gmail.com

Vanda Radzik (Guyana)

Danuta Radzik
Help & Shelter

Josephine Whitehead (Guyana)
Help & Shelter

Tishika France (Guyana)

Brandon Nicholas Kalyan (Republic of Trinidad & Tobago)
FreePride Foundation Project
mail@freepride.org

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