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Bridgetown, Barbados, 15 May, 2023 (PAHO\/WHO) The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO\/WHO), the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children with support from Together for Girls and the US Centers for Disease Control welcomed government representatives across multiple sectors and from different Caribbean countries to a virtual workshop on INSPIRE: Seven strategies to prevent
\nviolence against children and adolescents in the Caribbean. The workshop was aimed at addressing the urgent need to prevent violence against children and adolescents in the region through multi-sector and multi-stakeholder interventions that are backed by the evidence of what works.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe find several Caribbean countries among the top 10 countries with the highest homicide rates [for those under 18 years old]\u201d said Director for PAHO\u2019s Caribbean Subregional Office, Mr. Dean Chambliss, who brought welcome remarks at the workshop. \u201cThis alone makes preventing violence against children and adolescents, including homicide, urgent priorities for action across the Caribbean\u201d Mr. Chambliss emphasized.<\/p>\n
INSPIRE is a multiagency and multisector technical package of evidence \u2013 informed interventions, that have the greatest potential to reduce violence against children and adolescents. PAHO is proud to be one of the co-authors of INSPIRE and stresses the importance of adopting an evidence-based approach, which is at the heart of INSPIRE and
\ncore to PAHO\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n
The Regional Director of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean, Dr. Gary Conille, expressed his pleasure at the high turnout and engagement at the INSPIRE workshop. He reiterated that ending violence against children is a priority for UNICEF and stressed his commitment to work with countries and partners on reversing the figures found in the Region. Available data show that nearly two-thirds of children aged 1 to 14 in Latin America and the Caribbean experience violent discipline at home, with levels exceeding 80 percent in Haiti, Jamaica, and Suriname.<\/p>\n
\u201cINSPIRE is a great tool to help us, but still, we have a lot of work ahead\u201d Mr. Conille said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s use the 7 INSPIRE strategies, let\u2019s share our knowledge, our experiences, our evaluated programs. Let\u2019s keep working together. And remember, violence is preventable, so let\u2019s stop violence against children and adolescents,\u201d he stated. The workshop is part of a series of virtual events aimed at building capacity among government sectors, civil society and other partners on INSPIRE strategies to end violence against children and adolescents. This session focused on three essential INSPIRE strategies: Norms and Values, Safe Environments, and Parent and Caregiver Support. It also included a case study from Belize, which highlighted successful Parent and Caregiver Support
\ninterventions and real-life experiences.<\/p>\n
The next workshop is scheduled for May 24th and will cover three additional INSPIRE strategies. To register for the upcoming INSPIRE event and INSPIRE, please use the link below:<\/p>\n
Session #3, 24 May 2023, 11 am (Barbados time) & 10 am (Jamaica time).<\/p>\n
Focus on three INSPIRE strategies (Response and support services, Education, and Economic
\nstrengthening).<\/p>\n