Several civil society organisations and women's rights defenders, including CAISO (which fights for sex and gender justice), Womantra (a woman-centered non-profit), the country's Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Family Planning Association and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at The University of the West Indies’ St. Augustine campus, came together to honour victims and call on the state to take action to protect the lives of women and girls.

According to statistics from Womantra, 20 women were murdered by a partner since November 2018. They included Natalie Marsha Cadogan, Aleisha Ramnath, Katherine Diaz, Bassie Sooknanan, Evelyn Mata Rojas, mother and daughter Shanille and Akila Choon, Phoolandaye Singh, Roxanne Mack, Selene Sankar, Dolmati Mangroo, and others including two unidentified women.

A group of people dressed in orange stood in front of the newly-renovated Red House, recited the names of the 20 women, held placards with a short biography of each, and led the small crowd in a moment of silence.

And according to Safiyyah Acosta of Womantra, it's a form of violence that affects women disproportionately.

“Women tend to be attacked in this way,” she points out, “because our image, our body and our sexuality are tied so closely with our value and our worth as human beings.”

Amilcar Sanatan believes one way to change this practise of shaming and double standard, is for men to stop perpetuating the practise of sharing private images of women.

Womantra speaks out

Director of women's rights group Womantra, Stephanie Leitch said women's confidence in the mechanisms that currently exist for the reporting and actioning of sexual harassment complaints are already low and while the details of the Smith case are unsettling "it likely does not come as a surprise for most working women."

She said powerful men continue to be protected at the expense of women workers "and, so yes, it does not augur well for women's confidence that a former minister and holder of public office was not held accountable for such serious allegations of sexual impropriety."

Dubbing statements by former Health Minister Fuad Khan towards Candace Santana in a now-viral rant on social media as “shocking,” Womantra head Stephanie Leitch says Khan’s viewpoint has no scientific basis.

Leitch made the comment at the 3rd Annual Women’s Rights Rally and March at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, even as Khan stood by his comment and Santana said she forgave him for his comments despite the humiliation it has caused her.

Caribbean feminist group Womantra in a Facebook post, described the video as hate speech, homophobic lyrical content and one which could incite violence.

“It seems we don’t need to go as far as Jamaica to find artistes spouting hateful lyrics, calling for the murder of gay men. Following in the legacy of Boom Bye Bye (by Jamaican artiste Buju Banton), our very own Denise “Saucy Wow” can be heard on this freestyle track, calling for the murder of "batty boys."

“Despite the high levels of homophobia that still exist in TT, this display remains shocking, irresponsible and completely unacceptable. We are truly disappointed in Denise Belfon and demand a public apology for the harm she has caused by these offensive lyrics. Boycott hate speech now.”

Advocacy group, Womantra, is calling on television network CNC3 to address an episode of The Run Down in which host, Ancil "Blaze" Isaac acted out a skit, encouraging three men to harass a woman.

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In the satirical segment, Blaze is emulating a boss seeking to employ WASA men. He then takes the men on a tour demonstrating how to be successful at the job. The advice given appeared to be an attempt to bash the state-owned utility company for its services.

Womantra Co-director, Amanda McIntyre, said language which blames victims for crimes like rape is in itself an act of violence.

Speaking to LoopTT in response to a recent social media post shared by self-defence advocate Prashant Maharaj, McIntyre said Maharaj should have apologised for his statements instead of supporting them.

Maharaj, who allegedly worked for a health company, made several social media statements in which he referred to 'Gaza women' as 'unrapeable' and accused one woman, who had been raped, of not receiving the right martial arts training.

As LOVNSVG, a group which focuses on gender-based violence and violence against women has put it, “Yugge’s story highlights the subjection of the poor and those on the margins to the whims and fancies of the political elite and ruling class”.

If the region had not been horrified and acted in solidarity, Yugge’s experience and confinement may have passed with impunity. Now that Yugge has been released on bail, her defence, protection and wellness are priorities. Additionally, as Womantra put it, we are “closely watching the further conduct of this case and stand ready to speak out against the slightest hint of malfeasance by any agent of the state”.

Not long after the star's comments, one female party-goer accused two men (via Facebook) of touching her without her permission. One of the men who was named recorded a Facebook Live video denying the accusations as “completely false”, although he later admitted that there were “some true bits to it”. The women's advocacy group Womantra referred to the incident as “physical assault during the Carnival Season” and chastised Machel Montano for adding fuel to the fire, saying his suggestion “that a man's ‘right to wine’ is more important than a woman's consent” was “irresponsible”.