COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS IMPLEMENTATION OF COVENANT IN DOMINICA

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women today considered the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Dominica, in the absence of a report.

Ruth Allport, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture, Gender Affairs and Information of Dominica, said the Constitution of Dominica prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, and guaranteed equality under the law and the equal protection of the law. In relation to gender-based violence, emphasis had been given to law reform, social services for survivors of domestic violence, and public education. A number of policies had been pursued, including boosting women's participation in the labour force and increasing both productivity and earnings. Dominica was, despite an adverse economic situation, committed to the immediate enforcement of non-discrimination norms and the progressive realisation of economic and social rights. It was within this framework that Dominica undertook to prepare a complete initial and periodic report on compliance and implementation of the Covenant to be presented to the Committee in 2010.

Among questions and issues raised by Experts were why the report had not yet been presented, despite the fact that according to article 18 of the Convention this was a legal obligation to the States Parties, and whether Dominica had thought of seeking or had sought technical assistance from the United Nations machinery; what type of protection orders were available to women suffering from domestic violence and whether there was statistical information on this matter; what measures were being taken to promote the equal participation of women in highly-skilled jobs and management positions and what would stimulate upward mobility in the labour market and stimulate the diversity of occupational positions for women; and what laws existed to protect the individual’s property in the case of marriage.

Naela Gabr, Chairperson of the Committee, in concluding remarks, said she hoped that the report, when submitted, would follow the Committee's guidelines and would include statistics that were gender-disaggregated. It should also be formulated with the participation of civil society, as the organizations in the region could be of great help. The subject required political will. The Constitution of Dominica provided for equality - this was excellent, but this needed to be enforced. The dialogue had been useful to the Committee, and it was hoped it would be of use to Dominica as well.

Also in concluding remarks, Ms. Allport said she wished to thank the Committee for providing the opportunity to discuss the situation and present Dominica's case, and hoped the Committee would give Dominica the time to discuss the report with UNIFEM in order to prepare it and present it in 2010. It was hoped the information provided had been of service in presenting Dominica's situation.

Also representing Dominica was Alix Boyd-Knights, Honourable Speaker of the House of Assembly of Dominica.

The next public Committee meeting will be on Friday, 23 January, when it is scheduled to take up the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Armenia (CEDAW/C/ARM/4).

Presentation by Delegation of Dominica

Ruth Allport, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture, Gender Affairs and Information of Dominica, said the Government of Dominica was very conscious of the fact that it had not met its reporting obligations to the Convention since ratification. It had analysed the many challenges and reasons for this shortcoming, and was pleased to use this opportunity to demonstrate to the Committee that much progress had been achieved since ratification. The commitment to fully addressing and redressing gender discrimination and achieving the objectives of the Convention was evident in the prioritisation of the development of a National Policy and Action Plan for Gender Equity and Equality. This policy reaffirmed the Government's commitment to gender equality and social justice, providing a framework to guide and inform the transformation of existing inequitable gender relations; to facilitate social and domestic peace; to reduce the levels of violence in society; and to improve the quality of life at all levels of society. The underlying premise of the Government's gender policy was that the status of women affected the status of the household and of children.

The Constitution of Dominica prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, and guaranteed equality under the law and the equal protection of the law. In relation to gender-based violence, emphasis had been given to law reform, police training, social services for survivors of domestic violence, the development of data collection protocols, and public education through the media, popular theatre, and workshops. This work was done in collaboration with women's non-governmental organizations, trade unions, and faith-based institutions. There was still much work to be done to strengthen the laws relating to the prevention of gender-based violence. A major area of concern was the inadequate enforcement mechanisms in these areas of legislation.

Employment and the occupational structure in Dominica showed that men and women participated in the economy along established gender roles; in general, the sectors in which women participated and their position in these sectors had always placed them at a lower earning potential to men. Women's poverty was linked to the burden of care for children, the aged and sick, and limited economic and labour market options. A number of policies had been pursued, including boosting women's participation in the labour force and increasing both productivity and earnings. Women had full and equal access to health services. There were no institutional barriers in access to education - women generally pursued tertiary education to a higher degree than men. The higher levels of attendance and academic achievement by girls had not however translated into equal labour market opportunities. There was no legal impediment to women's equal participation in political life; cultural attitudes and gender stereotypes explained the continued low representation of women in elected positions at the highest levels.

Dominica was, despite an adverse economic situation, committed to the immediate enforcement of non-discrimination norms and the progressive realisation of economic and social rights. It was within this framework that Dominica undertook to prepare a complete initial and periodic report on compliance and implementation of the Convention to be presented to the Committee in 2010.

Questions from Committee Experts

Taking up articles one to four of the Convention, Experts then asked a wide range of questions and raised a number of issues, including why the report had not yet been presented, despite the fact that according to article 18 of the Convention this was a legal obligation to the States Parties, and whether Dominica had thought of seeking or had sought technical assistance from the United Nations machinery; whether Dominica had attempted to pass positive legislation to make the Convention directly applicable in Dominica, and to bring legislation in line with the Convention; whether there were any special proceedings such as a Human Rights Institution that dealt specifically with issues of discrimination, especially discrimination against women; why there had been no response to the list of questions and issues sent by the Committee; whether the non-reporting was connected to a perception of the Convention as a non-binding treaty or obligation; whether there was legislation covering direct and non-direct discrimination against women in all fields of life; what legal measures were in place to put inheritance law in line with the Convention; whether there were any plans to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention; whether public officials, in particular the judiciary, were being educated as to the Convention, its provisions and requirements; and the need for statistics to be provided to the Committee in order to determine how women's needs were being advanced.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Allport said that numerous efforts had been made over the years to finalise reports in various stages. There had been an Advisory Committee which worked to assist the Women's Bureau in drafting the report - a number of which had been prepared, but had not been submitted. Dominica had accepted technical assistance from UNIFEM to submit a report, and in 2009 a report covering the period up to 2008 would be submitted, and Dominica hoped to present it to the Committee in 2010. As to whether this lack of submission was due to a perception of the Convention as a non-binding treaty or obligation, this was not the case, it was only due to gross negligence on the part of Dominica, and the country sincerely hoped to make amends as soon as possible. There were limited human resources; the Women's Bureau was a very small unit and had been involved in a number of issues over the last few years, and because of this the review of the Ministry had begun with the aim of giving more planning and policy roles to the Gender Bureau in terms of integration and implementation of polices as relating to the Convention. The Women's Bureau previously worked with non-governmental and other women's organizations in the field in a lot of other practical work, such as providing training sessions and funding for small organizations. At the national level, other agencies were now on the ground to provide that direct service, so the Bureau could be integrated at a policy and planning level.

Alix Boyd-Knights, Honourable Speaker of the House of Assembly of Dominica, said that a number of temporary measures had been undertaken with regards to the elimination of discrimination and the assistance of women. When Dominica acknowledged the problems of young males in its society, it had to tackle these. One of the ways for this was to attract and encourage male teachers, which resulted in more young males staying in school and for longer. There had been an increase in the number of people receiving social assistance, in particular single families. There were free school buses from rural areas. As the banana industry had collapsed and the tourist industry expanded, and more and more opportunities for self-employment become available, many women had gone into vending, and the Government was providing them with assistance - this was one of the other temporary measures. Girls who got pregnant could continue their education, but usually at another school.

It was not customary for conventions that were ratified to become immediate law - they were taken into national legislation in parts, Ms. Boyd-Knights said. Dominica did understand, however, that the integration of the Convention was a requirement. The Constitution was very lengthy in its description of the protection of the different fundamental rights and freedoms, and it was not gender-biased, making these guaranteed for both male and female. It was a Constitutional right that anybody whose rights had been infringed had access to the courts for redress, and there was a Legal Aid Clinic to provide financial support in this field, which mainly provided aid to women. Inheritance law did not discriminate between men and women, even between legitimate and illegitimate children in cases of intestacy. There was no law as yet that allowed for automatic division of property in the case of divorce. A set of laws had been prepared and were being reviewed with a view to being passed by the Government, with the aim of harmonising Family Law throughout the Eastern Caribbean.

Responding to follow-up questions, Ms. Allport said that Dominica was not excusing its lack of report, but explaining it. The Women's Bureau was a small body, and that had added to difficulties in finalising the report. The National Advisory Committee had been instituted to provide support in this, and this process would be continued. It was made up of NGOs and other key stakeholders. This was a well-practiced approach in Dominica. Dominica was in the initial stages of discussion with UNIFEM on technical assistance, and these discussions would continue on her return, Ms. Allport said. Drafts of the report so far had lacked involvement from the different ministries and sectors in the country.

Dominica had a very small judiciary, with a quick turnover, and therefore the Government would seek to ensure that there was acknowledgement of the articles of the Convention, as this was an ongoing process, Ms. Allport said. Ms. Boyd-Knights said that the Legal Aid Office facilitated persons who were unable to afford a lawyer in order to get justice. Mostly women used the services of the Office. In the Sexual Offences Act, there was provision that any adult that had sex with a minor who was employed by that adult committed an offence. The penalty for this was very stiff - 25 years imprisonment. However, it did not cover people over the age of 18 - but it was viewed as a step in the right direction, as it recognised harassment.

The introduction of temporary measures was something akin to affirmative action, Ms. Boyd-Knights said, noting that she did not think that the Constitution could integrate temporary measures as envisaged by the Convention - this might not be constitutional. In the fundamental rights and freedoms, it would be unconstitutional to favourise one gender over the other. On the issue of male inheritance, the Intestate Act was not gender-biased. Two of the magistrates, the Chief Magistrate and the Magistrate on family law were very well acquainted with the Convention, and they were both women. Matters relating to women had been acknowledged by the judiciary - whilst the Convention was not mentioned during trials, it was incorporated in the judicial decision-making process.

Questions by Experts

Taking up articles five and six of the Convention, the Committee Experts then raised a range of questions and issues, including a request for more information on the integration of the Convention and that on the Rights of the Child into the reform of national legislation; what type of protection orders were available to women suffering from domestic violence and whether there was statistical information on this matter; were shelters available for women victims of violence, and whether there were telephone numbers available; what was the role of NGOs working in the field of violence against women; whether there had been a study to identify the forms and prevalence of domestic violence and whether there had been a disaggregated study to identify the causes of this violence and whether there was information that covered the various ethnic groupings and races in Dominica; what was the status of women within the context of gender stereotypes and how they were perceived; and as regarded trafficking, which was a global phenomenon, and required preventive measures and punitive measures, was Dominica taking this subject into consideration and had it conducted any studies in this respect.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Allport said that studies showed that most violence was linked to use of drugs and alcohol. Apart from the traditional occupations of men, there were not really any stereotypical practices which led to violence against women. It could be at a higher level in the Carib territory as there tended to be a high consumption of alcohol in that area. The various Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Governments were reforming family law to make it harmonised, Ms. Boyd-Knights said. On protection orders, domestic violence legislation offered a number of these, including preventing the perpetrator from entering and remaining in the house or in specified areas such as the victim's workplace. What was unique in Dominica's domestic violence legislation was that abuse was interpreted widely - it was not just domestic violence but also covered emotional, psychological, financial, sexual and physical abuse. It encompassed not just spouses but also visiting relationships. It was not up to the victim to make the first report - but unfortunately often the victim could be persuaded to drop the case.

On domestic violence as it related to society, Ms. Boyd-Knights said that at one point it was felt that non-legal methods and interventions should be used. One of the customs that had been a barrier to the stopping of domestic violence was that long ago women believed that if a man beat her, he loved her. A lot of work had been done to eradicate this, but it had not yet been entirely successful. With regards to trafficking, there was no real trafficking going on as far as the Government was aware. However, the Sexual Offences Act dealt with it, and there was therefore legislation available to cover it should it take place.

Further Questions by Experts

Taking up articles seven to nine of the Convention, Experts asked, among other things, for more figures on the numbers of women in senior public offices and in other posts; whether there were any temporary special measures in place in order to improve these figures; what was the situation of Carib women in society and whether they were adequately provided for; and how was nationality transmitted in the case of Dominican women married to foreigners.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Allport said she did not have with her the figures on women in public office - suffice to say that women were well represented in all public services. There could be a need for increased representation at the political level, but this was not just a cultural issue but also a personal choice, and this latter should be taken into account. In terms of temporary special measures, generally there had not been a situation where this needed to be considered. A few years ago it had been discussed in the context of the situation of boys in secondary schools and the low figures of attendance, and the situation was now one of under-performance by boys, and this needed to be addressed.

Ms. Boyd-Knights said women could confer on their husbands and children the same rights to citizenship as could men. Even in the private sector, there were leading women, such as bank managers. Women were well represented in Dominica generally - not that there was no discrimination and work to be done, but generally they were present, in particular in the political area. There had been increased participation of women at the local Government level, Ms. Allport said, and over the years there had been vast increases at the level of village councils, which was encouraging.

Questions by Committee Experts

Taking up articles 10 to 14, the Committee raised a range of questions and issues, including whether there were any hidden indirect costs to education which militated against girls in certain social sub-groupings, such as in rural areas or those with special needs; what were the differences in treatment of the sexes in the classroom; what was the drop-out rate with regards to both boys and girls and particularly in the context of teenage pregnancy, and what steps had been taken to counter this problem; why those who had dropped out due to pregnancy were referred to other schools to continue their education; whether there was sex education and reproductive health in the curricula; how the Government ensured that all children under 16 years old could effectively access education, in particular from poor households; what measures were being taken to promote the equal participation of women in highly-skilled jobs and management positions and what would stimulate upward mobility in the labour market and stimulate the diversity of occupational positions for women; what the Government was doing to address pay gaps and what was being done to close the gap between men's and women's pay; was there a special mechanism to adjudicate discrimination, in, for example the Labour Code; what was being done to ensure equal pay for equal work; how were the rights of women in the informal sector being addressed in terms of maternity leave and benefits of any sort in terms of the ILO agenda, as they were particularly vulnerable in that regard; what were figures for maternal mortality and what specific programmes existed for breast cancer, for example, and did this latter constitute a particular threat to Dominican women; were healthcare services costly or not; whether there were clear statistics on the extent of abortion and its effect on maternal mortality; what factors had a main bearing on mortality within the country; a request for information on the special programme to address HIV/AIDS; and what particular problems were faced by rural women and whether the Government had a programme or plan of action to improve their status in rural areas.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Allport said the national curriculum was not divided along gender lines. Girl students tended to choose the humanities more, but the curriculum did not contribute to the segregation of roles. All students had access to primary and secondary school education, and were required by law to be in school up to 16 years. There were different systems in place monitoring their attendance, and missing students were referred to the appropriate department such as the Welfare Department. To assist students from poor families to attend school, the Government had instituted a number of public assistance programmes, such as school buses that were free of charge. There were severe financial constraints, but Dominica was trying as hard as possible to provide services such as grant funding. Education on reproductive health was part of the curriculum, and there were counsellors in the different schools to provide counselling to students with difficulties. In terms of teacher-training and the curriculum, the materials used could include some terms of gender bias, such as in terms of reference to a particular occupation or pictures, as a total review would be very expensive. However, the issue was recognised and taken into account. There was provision for students with special needs, with some special schools that were provided with grant assistance by the Government.

Ms. Boyd-Knights said the Government gave transfer grants to children moving from primary to secondary schools, which covered part of the books and uniforms, and there was also an educational trust fund allowing for the poor to buy books and others. On teenage pregnancy, there were several institutions run for girls (and boys too) that dropped out. There were classes and youth training programmes provided for them. Sex education was provided by the Planned Parenthood Association. Trained young persons went to schools and gave dramatisations in order to convey the importance of sex education. On indirect costs in accessing education, there were no known instances when that situation would favour boys over girls. As to violence in schools, it was mostly boys who committed acts of violence. There was a problem however with regards to girls and sex. For the sake of anonymity, girls who had had children were sent to schools further away.

Responding to follow-up questions, Ms. Boyd-Knights said the Sexual Offences Act made it an offence to have sex with a person under 16, but it was found that girls of 15 went to hospital to have a baby - clear evidence that the Act had been contravened. Whose duty it was to make the information available to the police was unclear, however, and this was why there was a need for enforcement mechanisms. Often the father of the child would be the step-father or a man the mother was having a relationship with, and in this case the mother would often, due to economic constraints, not report the issue. The police in their turn needed to enforce the Act, as well as the Domestic Violence Act, to a greater extent and within a specific timeframe.

The High Courts were under the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and the judiciary thus moved from country to country. At the moment, Dominica only had three magistrates who were sitting. Domestic violence was, however, given a priority. Further training needed to be given to women to encourage them to participate in political life. There had been a renewed call for rape within marriage to be criminalised within the Sexual Offences Act. Attention had been given to this matter and it was being actively pursued.

The Constitution and normal practice was non-discrimination, Ms. Allport said. There were still cultural impediments, but this was not an issue of and for political will. With regards to the curriculum, there were girls' and boys' schools, and they offered different topics as per their funding. There was skills training in other centres and these offered subjects without gender bias, but the individual choices made showed that women often chose education, health and the humanities over other subjects.

Responding to other questions, Ms. Allport said it was not the case that women were pushed into the lower scale of public service; more women were in the public service because their work was administrative in nature. In terms of the private sector, the Government was working to put into place policies for independent vendors. Most street vendors were self-employed, and all contributed to social security. Small loans had been set up to provide them with collateral and other measures had been taken to allow them to set up business more easily.

With regards to the Labour Standards Act, Ms. Boyd-Knights said that some of it had been difficult to interpret, and there was a need to amend it to make it clear as to what it meant. But the whole question of "equal pay for equal work" was an important one. The presence of women in the private sector and career development for women was improving at an accelerated rate. Since 1985 the University of the West Indies had been producing more female than male lawyers.

The life expectancy for men was 74, for women 76, said Ms. Allport. Morbidity and mortality was mainly due to non-communicable diseases, cancer, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, which had been on the increase over recent years. There was a special education programme aiming to raise awareness on this matter. Women used the health centres at a rate higher than that of men, to the extent where there had been an education campaign to encourage men to use them. The diagnosis for breast cancer had a cost associated to it except for those over 65, who, along with those under 18, received free healthcare. There was a special project office which dealt with HIV/AIDS, and there were education programmes and programmes to ensure that there was treatment available. There was confidentiality within the system, but taboos and discrimination still existed.

Ms. Boyd-Knights said abortion was illegal, because of the Offence Against the Person Act. Because of the illegality, there were no statistics available. There was no political will to change that status - on the contrary, every move was being made by the Right to Life Advocates. AIDS awareness campaigns were having an impact on the youth. The primary healthcare system worked quite well, and children could access the health system easily. Older women might find access to healthcare more difficult.

Women were now able to access loans, Ms. Allport said, and there had been a number of specific programmes with lower collateral requirements aimed at helping women, in particular in rural communities. There were some differences in terms of rural and urban areas, although the Government had done its best to provide services in most areas. This was sometimes very difficult, as the terrain of Dominica made it sometimes very difficult to make services available.

Responding to further follow-up questions, Ms. Allport said that the education system was very vibrant and encouraged the use of condoms. In terms of elderly women, in the next month or so the Government would be launching two new programmes that would provide further services to this section of society. There had been a reform of the Social Security System about two years ago - it was very inclusive and covered self-employed persons, who contributed on a voluntary basis and received the same benefits. There had been a lot of educational programmes and drives to inform the self-employed as to this.

Dominica's birthrate was one of the lowest in the Caribbean, Ms. Boyd-Knights said, showing that contraception was working. She knew of no move to amend the Labour Standards Act.

Further Questions by Committee Experts

Taking up articles 15 and 16 of the Convention, Experts raised a number of questions and issues, including what laws existed to protect the individual’s property in the case of marriage.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to this, Ms. Allport said that about two years ago the Government embarked on a complete land administration and reform programme, and reviewed the Act which allowed for ownership of property. Ms. Boyd-Knights said there was no inequality as such in dissolution of marriage - it was simply the issue of in whose name the property had been put. Having recognised this, the State decided to pass legislation lowering the fees involved in transferring property. Family laws were not going to be amended - there was a wholesale reorganization of family law, and this included property, intestacy and all succession laws including in situations of non-legalised relationships. When the new law came into place, the situation that now existed with regards to property on divorce would no longer apply.

Responding to brief follow-up questions, Ms. Boyd-Knights said that all land was owned by Caribs, so no one could own land - there was no individual ownership. Often the land was transmitted through the male line, as they were the ones that worked on the land. For this reason, it was not favoured when a woman brought a husband in from outside. Women would benefit from the new land legislation. However, there was no way to say specifically what would be in the new legislation.

Concluding Remarks

In concluding remarks, Ms. Allport said she wished to thank the Committee for providing the opportunity to discuss the situation and present Dominica's case, and hoped the Committee would give Dominica the time to discuss the report with UNIFEM in order to prepare it and present it in 2010. It was hoped the information provided had been of service in presenting Dominica's situation.

NAELA GABR, Chairperson of the Committee, said that this was the first time that the Committee had discussed the situation of a country without a report. The Committee had always worked in a flexible manner, and was glad that the delegation had come to the dialogue, as this was the best way to improve the situation of women in the country. She hoped the report, when submitted, would follow the Committee's guidelines and would include statistics that were gender-disaggregated. It should also be formulated with the participation of civil society, as the organizations in the region could be of great help. The subject required political will. The Constitution provided for equality - this was excellent, but this needed to be enforced. The dialogue had been useful to the Committee, and it was hoped it would be of use to Dominica also - it was of paramount importance to publicise the dialogue in Dominica.

For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW09004E