CARICOM Model Legislation on issues affecting women

The production of Model Legislation on issues affecting women was an important achievement for the CARICOM Women's Desk (as it was called at the time). It also provided a good example of collaboration and partnership between two sections of the CARICOM Secretariat - Women's Affairs and Legal Division - and the success of the project highlighted the gains to be had from an integrated approach to the Secretariat's work.

The project had its genesis in a 1980 meeting of technical officials of Women's Bureau in the Region. At that Meeting, UNECLAC highlighted the need for an investigation into the legal status of women and suggested that CARICOM undertake the exercise given the existence of a legal division within its fold. A project was jointly developed by Ms. Magda Pollard of the Women's Desk and Ms. Denier Little of the Legal Division to carry out exploratory research, and this process was able to draw on the findings of the Women in the Caribbean project spearheaded by Prof. Joycelin Massiah. Funding for this preliminary study was provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The research was carried out by Trinidad and Tobago lawyer Mr. Douglas Mendes, and it identified certain deficiencies and gaps in the laws of Member States as they pertained to women. This led to formulation of a regional project to draft model legislation in six critical areas with a focus on addressing gender disparities. This project received funding from the Commonwealth Secretariat. The CARICOM Secretariat is indebted to Ms. Hyacinth Lindsay, Chief Parliamentary Counsel of Jamaica who, in her capacity as a consultant to CARICOM, drafted the model legislation between 1989 and 1991.

Ms. Lindsay was supported by a committee comprising the Women's Desk Officer, Ms. Magda Pollard, Assistant Legal Counsel, Ms. Thelma Rodney-Edwards, and legal experts from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat and the Commonwealth Secretariat. The areas covered were: Citizenship, Domestic Violence, Equal Pay, Inheritance, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Offences. The process also benefitted from comments from both Government Agencies and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), and the Caribbean Women's Association (CARIWA), in particular with respect to the latter.

CARICOM Ministers responsible for the Integration of Women in Development adopted the Model Legislation in 1991 and mandated the Secretariat to produce model legislation in two other areas : Equal Opportunity and Treatment in Employment, and Maintenance.

The preparation of the Model Legislation has not only assisted Member States in the drafting of national legislation but has also assisted NGOs and Intergovernmental Agencies in their research and advocacy work. For example, it contributed to CAFRA's Women and Law project, and in particular the legal literacy aspect of the project, and, more recently, some of the models have been included as appendices in a UNIFEM publication on "Violence Against Women: State and Non-State Responses".

The Secretariat is pleased to make the model legislation accessible to a wider audience. By disseminating this information we hope to address the need for the continuing education of women on their legal rights.

CARICOM Secretariat
March 1997

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