I reside on an island in the Caribbean region. When I tell someone where I live, they often reply that I am lucky to live in such a paradise. While I do acknowledge the beauty of the white beaches and warm weather that surrounds me, it is difficult some days to draw the correlation between the word ‘paradise’ and my homeland.
“Why is that?” you may ask. The answer is that I, along with many other Caribbean women, am a survivor of gender-based violence. Statistics show that one in three women worldwide has experienced either physical/sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.*4 Unfortunately, I am one in three—but that is not all that I am. I am also someone who refuses to be defined by my worst experiences.
In 2016, I had reached my breaking point as a result of my own experiences and observing those of others. I had decided that I would play my part in eliminating violence against women and girls in my country as well as the wider region. I founded a movement called #LifeinLeggings by speaking out about my personal experiences on social media. The movement I created sought to challenge the pervasive rape culture that exists within the society and eradicate the long-standing scourge of violence against women and girls. In creating this space, I was seeking to empower Caribbean women in the region and diaspora to finally break their silences and demand necessary societal changes to achieve gender equality. After my initial post using the hashtag, it wasn’t long before Caribbean women and girls from within the region and around the world heeded my call to action and began to do the same. The hashtag went viral in almost every country in the Caribbean, becoming one of the most impactful cyberfeminist movements in the region and inspiring several others to emerge as well in the months to follow.
The movement then evolved into a grassroots organization called Life In Leggings: Caribbean Alliance Against Gender-based Violence Through Education, Empowerment & Community Outreach. We planned our first initiative, Reclaim Our Streets: Women’s Solidarity March, where we took to the streets in seven Caribbean countries to do a simultaneous march in an effort to take a stand against gender-based violence and encourage citizens to join us and do the same. But we didn’t stop there. We then launched Pink Parliament, an initiative that seeks to empower girls ages from 14 to 20 to consider careers in politics through mentorship, education, and networking opportunities with female politicians so that they may be able to champion the issues that affect women and girls at the legislative and policy level.
What I dream of is a true paradise for all Caribbean women. A paradise for me is somewhere I can be safe. A place where I can leave my house without having to prepare myself for the pervasive sexual harassment
that I might endure when I’m running my errands. A place where most of my day is not consumed by the thought of how to protect myself from becoming another femicide*5 statistic. For it means little to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth if the women who live there cannot truly enjoy it without fearing for their lives.
As long as there is breath in my lungs, I am determined to help create a paradise where all Caribbean women in my region have the right to exist in public, private, and virtual spaces free from all forms of violence.