Montevideo, March 9, 2023.The launch of the National Clinical and Policy Guidelines on Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, a joint initiative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and Spotlight, took place on 8 March.
The event was attended by several authorities including the Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh; PAHO/WHO Representative in Trinidad and Tobago, Erica Wheeler; and the European Union Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Cavendish.
The Minister of Health, emphasised the historic importance of these guidelines and cited the 2017 National Women's Health Survey which shows that 1 in 3 women in Trinidad and Tobago have experienced intimate partner violence.
PAHO/WHO's representative in Trinidad and Tobago, Erica Wheeler, emphasised the importance of close collaboration between government and agencies to help ensure implementation of the guidelines.
Quality and accessible data is critical to inform clinical and policy decision-making. For this reason, the Latin American Centre for Perinatology - Women's and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR) developed a specific clinical record in the Perinatal Information System (PIS) Plus that allows health workers to collect information and generate reports on the health conditions and care provided to women survivors of violence.
Trinidad and Tobago is the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to have an electronic health information system on violence against women. PAHO/WHO, through CLAP/WR, plans to use the experience of Trinidad and Tobago to develop other violence against women health records in other countries in the Americas.
