Ukraine & Trinidad and Tobago joint event on 13 June 2023
An online high-level event on sharing experiences and best practices in countering, responding to, and overcoming domestic violence between Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago took place today, June 13. It’s the first such event to be co-organized by Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago.
Participants from both countries shared their national experiences in the field of combatting gender-based violence.
Ukraine was represented by:
Katerina Levchenko, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy,
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations,
Victoria Litvinova, Deputy Prosecutor General,
Katerina Pavlichenko, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs,
Ulyana Tokareva, Deputy Minister of Social Policy
Katerina Cherepaha, President of the organization «La Strada-Ukraine».
Trinidad and Tobago representatives were:
Ayanna Webster-Roy – Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Gender and Child Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago
Dennis Francis - Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations / President-Elect of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Ian Rampersad- Director International Law and Human Rights Unit (ILHRU), Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago
Claire Guy-Alleyne, Woman Superintendent and Head, Special Victims Department, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Lenor Baptiste -Simmons, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, Trinidad and Tobago
Rowena Pitt - Director of Tabitha’s Home for Women and Children.
The Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean Maria-Noel Vaeza, EU Chargé D'affaires for Trinidad and Tobago Sanjin Soldatic and UN Women Representative in Ukraine Sabine Freizer-Gunes also participated in the event.
During the event following topics were discussed:
- Country overview. To include socioeconomic situation, prevalence data disaggregated by age, gender, geography, culture etc.;
- Legislation/Prosecution of Perpetrators;
- Second Panel: Legislation/Prosecution of Perpetrators;
- Assistance to victims of domestic and gender-based violence. Available services and their delivery system
- Involvement of non-governmental organizations in providing assistance to victims of domestic and gender-based violence. Cooperation with international organizations and the state in this direction.
Representatives discussed their countries' challenges and how they overcame them in different spheres.
Both sides expressed readiness to enlarge the intergovernmental cooperation between their countries.
Kateryna Levchenko mentioned that Ukraine is open to assisting other countries, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, in implementing international documents.
The event aimed to enhance Ukraine's image and authority internationally, inform about achievements in responding to and countering domestic violence and learn from international experiences in these matters. Experts working on preventing and combating domestic violence and assisting victims are invited to participate.
At the end of the event, countries agreed on further bilateral cooperation, especially on gender issues.
