UPR Sexual Rights Database

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 4) JS3 welcomed that, in 2012, Saint Lucia implemented the Labour Code Act of 2006 which captured some concerns under ILO Conventions in areas of unfair dismissal, child labor, sexual orientation, and workers' rights but regretted that there had been no revision of the Civil Code to eliminate gender based discriminatory provisions as accepted by the State during its previous review.

National Report:
Para 39) The continued work of the Women's Support Centre which was established in 2001 has aided in ensuring that victims of domestic abuse are able to obtain access to shelter, counselling, social support and protection from the abuse which they have been exposed to. Furthermore, the Women's Support Centre often works in tandem with the police and family court to provide legal redress and additional protection for victims. Finally, in cases where the abused woman is unemployed and her current living environment puts her at risk for further abuse, the support centre would endeavour to source alternative housing and job placements for that individual.

Para 40) The Vulnerable Persons Team is a unit which was established within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force in 2003. This Unit's mandate is to respond solely to cases of violence against women and children on island with the aim of resolving such matters with necessary care and attention.

UN Compilation:
Para 21) The subregional team indicated that in 2012 the Government had launched an island-wide initiative to curb domestic and gender-based violence. The Department of Gender Relations also ran the Women's Support Centre, which provided shelter, counselling and residential services, a 24-hour hotline and assistance in finding employment for victims. Various non-governmental organizations also provided counselling, referral, education and empowerment services. However, crisis centres in Saint Lucia were significantly underfunded.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 27) JS3 noted that Saint Lucia had not taken any action to address the accepted recommendation relating to reforms to better combat gender and domestic violence that would allow prosecution of perpetrators without the necessity for the victim to lodge a complaint ...

National Report:
Para 57) The Division of Gender Relations has also sought the assistance of the OHCHR Office in Barbados. In 2019, the OHCHR provided assistance in facilitating a CEDAW Sensitisation workshop with a wide cross section of Saint Lucia’s Law Enforcement and Social Support Agencies to discuss Saint Lucia’s compliance with the Convention.
Para 58) The Division of Gender Relations has also requested technical assistance agencies outside of the UN, such as Sisters for Change which is a European Union funded international NGO which is a member of the Equality and Justice Alliance. Sisters For through its Commonwealth legislative reform initiative, provided support and technical assistance to participating countries. The organisation has provided technical assistance and support to the Division of Gender Relations in a review of its laws in relation to CEDAW, in addition to drafting of its CEDAW report.

National Report:
Para 12) The GOSL continues to work assiduously to eliminate gender discrimination in its society and most notably in the education sector. The Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2015-2020, commits to increase the accessibility and affordability of education for all citizens as well as promote gender equality. There have been significant strides in realising this vision. 13. Equal educational opportunities are available at the primary and secondary levels to all individuals regardless of their gender. Girls are accorded the same rights to education as boys. According to the Department of Education’s 2018 Statistical Digest, the net enrolment of males to females at the primary level was almost equal from 2006-2016. For the 2017/2018 academic year, the percentage of girls increased from the ten-year trend of forty-nine percent (49%) to fifty percent (50%). At the secondary level, the percentage of girls enrolled was slightly higher than that of boys. Similar to the primary and secondary levels, gender parity exists at the tertiary level. The enrolment figures at these institutions however tend to be higher among females than males. 14. The enrolment by main divisions of the tertiary institutions on island shows that there is growth in subscription of females in non-traditional bodies of knowledge. Through the efforts of the Aspire Artemis Foundation (UN), efforts are in progress to create more access for female students in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The outcomes of the Summer Institutes 2018/2019 for teachers of primary and secondary schools pointed to demonstrating a classroom practice, which shows how female students can be nurtured in accessing opportunities in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
Para 38) Saint Lucia is one of the four participating Caribbean countries of the UN Trust Fund for Human Security which is aimed at addressing the needs and vulnerabilities of local communities. The focus for the Caribbean is “Building Climate Resilience for Human Security through Promoting Gender Equality in Key Economic Sectors and Women’s Empowerment in the Caribbean Countries. The fund supports Saint Lucia’s project which focuses on the strengthening the agriculture and fisheries sector with gender equality and women empowerment at the centre.

UN Compilation:
Para 24) The subregional team reported that two out of every five households in Saint Lucia were headed by females. Women faced a lower labour force participation rate, of 68.1 per cent, compared to 81.8 per cent for men. Furthermore, even though women could be involved in highly skilled professional fields of employment, women’s earnings were still lower than those of men. The subregional team noted that female heads of household were disproportionately represented in one-parent households, and that women were heads in over half the extended-family households that had the highest child poverty rates. Conversely, nuclear families, where poverty was lower, were rarely headed by women. The share of people working and living in poverty, out of all employed people, had fallen for men but not for women.
Para 25) The subregional team noted that in Saint Lucia, a quarter of households experienced food insecurity, which appeared closely linked to the level of poverty. While the overall poverty rate was 25 per cent and the multidimensional poverty rate was about 24.2 per cent, poverty was gendered, with a significantly higher poverty rate in female-headed households.
Para 40) The subregional team reported that women accounted for 12 per cent of Members of Parliament in the Lower House and 27 per cent of the members of the Upper House. The Cabinet of Ministers was at present composed of 1 woman and 10 men. The subregional team noted a Department of Gender Relations publication in which it was reported that while there was a high level of involvement of women in politics at the constituency level, women were generally unwilling to participate as candidates in national elections.