This evening, the local feminist movement and gay Belizean women received a major infusion of support from the Government of Canada. It came in the form of an official launch of the Equality Fund's Women's Voice and Leadership Caribbean program.
It's part of the Canadian Government's "Feminist International Assistance Policy", and the program was rolled out in other Caribbean nations, starting back in 2017. The Equality Fund is partnering with the Astrea Lesbian Foundation to finance the work of 27 local women's organizations and movements from 9 countries in the Caribbean. These are women organizations that are working in their respective countries to advance the rights of women and girls and to promote gender equality. And part of that push for gender equality also includes advocacy on behalf of LGBTIQ women living in the Caribbean.
This evening, the High Commissioner of Canada to Belize, the Special Envoy for Women and Children, and a representative of the Equality Fund hosted a virtual launch of the program in Belize. In that launch, they introduced several of the Belizean advocacy groups which will benefit from the program's funding.
7News tuned in for the 60-minute event, and here's an excerpt of the presentations made by key speakers on how the program will work:
The WVL Caribbean program is a 5-year, 4.8 million-dollar initiative.
