Barbados’ newly appointed CARICOM Youth Ambassadors have commenced their 2025–2027 mandate with a powerful appeal for comprehensive educational reform and community mobilization to address gender-based violence and advance women’s rights. The inauguration coincided with both Human Rights Day and the culmination of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, adding symbolic weight to their message.
Janae Herbert, one of the newly installed ambassadors, emphasized the necessity of a fundamental societal re-education regarding gender-based violence. She advocated for an ‘all-sector approach’ that transcends formal education systems, highlighting the crucial need for personal education about what constitutes violence and which societal narratives perpetuate harmful behaviors. Herbert called for the deconstruction and reconstruction of societal concepts surrounding the respect and reverence afforded to women, asserting that women must be recognized first as human beings and equally important participants in societal transformation.
Fellow ambassador Jennifer Burrows reinforced these sentiments while specifically addressing the structural dimensions of the issue. She identified gender-based violence as a pervasive problem affecting Barbados, the Caribbean region, and the global community. Burrows stressed the imperative of introducing gender equality education from the primary school level, focusing on teaching about diverse gender roles, inherent strengths of each gender, and individual potential. Additionally, she underscored the critical need for systemic institutional changes to effectively combat the deep-rooted problem, positioning education and structural reform as complementary essential tools.