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Growth & Jobs | Domestic violence survivors get lifeline

Women given tablets to bolster access to small business grants

Published:Tuesday | May 9, 2023 | 12:09 AM
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The tablets which were presented to survivors of domestic violence at the start of their training sessions under the UN’s Spotlight Initiative.
Contributed
The tablets which were presented to survivors of domestic violence at the start of their training sessions under the UN’s Spotlight Initiative.
Domestic violence survivors who are trainees in an ongoing five-month business training programme, pose with officials from the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, Clarendon Parish Development Committee Benevolent Society, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Victim S
Contributed
Domestic violence survivors who are trainees in an ongoing five-month business training programme, pose with officials from the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, Clarendon Parish Development Committee Benevolent Society, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Victim Support Unit and the UNDP Multi Country Office in Jamaica. They had just received tablets to support their preparation of small business plans.
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TWENTY SURVIVORS of domestic violence have been given tablets to bolster their chances of winning small-business grants and to facilitate access to virtual training and business resources.

As a prerequisite for their graduation from a five-month business training programme on May 25, participants must develop and submit business plans for a chance to receive grant funds to set up or strengthen their small businesses. The tablets have been deployed to support development of these plans in time to meet submission deadlines and to digitally reinforce fledgling or future enterprises.

The participants received the tablets at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon, during a personal development and life skills training session held recently. The session is one of several modules in the five-month Local Economic Development Community Training Programme funded under the European Union/United Nations Spotlight Initiative. The course, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi Country Office in Jamaica, in partnership with the Local Economic Development Unit of the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, aims to bolster economic empowerment of domestic violence survivors through training in business management, marketing, and sustainable business strategies.

“Training has been empowering,” declared participant Cadine McLeod-Davis. In her assessment of the last session, which included guidance on dealing with abusers and digital skills, she said: “The realistic way the trainer has brought (the message) across is not just (about) the words, it’s not just the PowerPoint, but bringing it out with real-life situations. So persons who would have been numb or silent got the chance and opportunity to (express their feelings). Another participant, Abigail McKenzie, described the training as “very informative and very good so far”.

UNWAVERING SUPPORT

“Spotlight Initiative aims to effectively equip vulnerable women with the skills, capacity, and resources to disrupt their economic dependence on male partners and progress to independence. By gaining financial earning power, they are less susceptible to dependent relationships and at less risk of exposure to domestic violence,” UNDP Programme Officer Shellian Forester explained.

“We look forward to great things from you as you complete training leading to certification in small business and to seeing you soar as entrepreneurs making your way independently to support your families,” she charged the participants.

President of the Clarendon Parish Development Committee Benevolent Society Eurica Douglas congratulated them for taking the bold step to transform their lives. “I commend your courage and resilience and urge you to persevere and see the programme to completion and establish a strong foundation for your future endeavours.”

Councillor for the Hayes division Scean Barnswell congratulated the Clarendon Municipal Corporation for organising the training programme and urged the women to use what they learnt to realise their goals and objectives.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Owen Brown of the Clarendon Police Division assured the women of the police’s unwavering support. ‘We know that at the end of the year when we are cou,nting numbers of violent crime, this will help us see a reduction. We know the initiative is helping because the families are coming in and they are participating, and as such what could have been is no longer happening and for that we are very grateful.”

The training builds on work completed last year in Phase I of Spotlight in Clarendon, which trained and supported 40 women and 10 girls. The ongoing empowerment training of domestic violence survivors seeks to implement components of the violence against women and girls strategy of the parish’s Local Sustainable Development Plan.

An additional component of the project will be a workshop series titled ‘Violence Against Women and Girls Interruption: How to Spot the Signs’. Twenty women and 10 girls will participate in the series geared at equipping them with interpersonal and behavioural psycho-social skills.

The Spotlight Initiative is a global project of the United Nations that has received generous support from the European Union. Its aim is to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.