Youth Panel Discusses Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking

As part of the activities under 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Belize City Council held its 4th annual Youth Panel Discussion today. The hybrid event had students attending both in person and virtually to discuss topics such as violence against women and girls, human trafficking, and sexual and reproductive health. Leading up to today’s event, RET International, one of the partner organizations for the event, conducted sensitization sessions for students through its Safe Belize Project. Eva Banks, Community Engagement Officer at RET International, stated that more than 200 students from across the country participated in these sessions. Belize City Councilor Kaya Cattouse emphasized that hosting the forum is one of the ways the council ensures youth participation in addressing critical national issues.

We spoke with Abigail Williams, Youth Shadow Councilor for the Belize City Council, about the importance of peer advocacy in addressing these key issues. Some of the participants also shared what they hoped to learn from the sessions.

The sessions were held at the Old Belize Pavilion in collaboration with the Department of Youth Services, UNICEF Belize, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)./