Gender-Based Violence Walk 2026 Launched Alongside Women’s Shelter Fundraising Drive

The Gender-Based Violence Walk 2026 was launched on Wednesday, January 7th, at a brief ceremony held at the Multipurpose Centre. Residents can now sign up online for the event, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 7th, 2026, to commemorate International Women’s Day 2026, which falls the day after. Now in its third year, the GBV Walk is Antigua and Barbuda’s largest public advocacy event on gender-based violence (GBV). Organised by the nonprofit organisation, Integrated Health Outreach (IHO) through its IHO Gender-Based Violence Coalition (IHO-GBV), and in partnership with the Directorate of Gender Affairs (DoGA), the walk attracted more than 2000 participants in 2025. Both IHO and DoGA are confident that the number will increase sharply this year, come March 7th. 

Gender-based violence, whether physical, sexual, emotional, or otherwise, profoundly impacts women and girls in numerous ways. It can cause physical injuries, long-term health problems, and psychological trauma. It restricts freedom, limits opportunities, and perpetuates cycles of harm. At Wednesday, January 7th’s launch, IHO’s Communications Officer, Kieron Murdoch, encouraged participants from previous years to “mobilise your family members, friends, social groups and coworkers” and called on community and civil society groups as well as the private and public sectors, to get involved by mobilising their members and staff, respectively. Over 28 civil society groups participated last year. “Never underestimate the power of showing up, of taking part, and of adding your voice to a movement for something as important as this,” Murdoch said.

Speaking on behalf of the DoGA, Programme Officer, Melanie Williams-Kirnon, characterised gender-based violence as “a pervasive issue that leaves deep scars on victims and disrupts the social fabric of our communities”, adding, “Each of us has a role to play in addressing this violence.” She said since its inception in 2024, the walk had become “a critical initiative for raising awareness about gender-based violence in Antigua and Barbuda”, and she hoped to see more and more organisations and residents taking part, especially men and boys.

Activities surrounding the GBV Walk 2026 include an 8-week awareness-raising campaign, a series of weekly Saturday youth workshops on GBV, and a fundraising drive in support of IHO and DoGA’s ongoing project to establish a women’s shelter. Those who want to donate to the shelter project can do so through a GoFundMe operated by IHO. Additionally, residents can make donations toward the shelter project at donation boxes at locations across the island. 

IHO’s Executive Director, Dr. Nicola Bird, noted on Wednesday, January 7, that the GBV Walk campaigns in 2024 and 2025 helped the effort to establish a shelter. The shelter has been planned as a women-led social enterprise involving a beeping farm to generate sustainable funding. “We really commend the community for coming out each year because it is the voice of the people, and that people-driven momentum that really helped us, in conjunction with DoGA, to secure October’s decision from the government for a lease of five acres of land to establish the domestic violence shelter,” Dr. Bird said.

Through the GBV Walk 2026, IHO, in partnership with DoGA, wants to amplify the message that together, all of society must advocate to end gender-based violence. The organisers emphasise that males have an enormous role to play in achieving the cultural shift needed to bring about lasting societal change, and hope to see a higher proportion of men and boys at this year’s walk. Additionally, as part of walk registration, and in an effort to gather data, registrants this year have the option of completing a short, anonymous, informal survey designed to gauge public perception of the prevalence of violence against women and girls in Antigua and Barbuda. 

UN Women notes that the most common form of violence experienced by women globally is physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner, saying that around the world, “At least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime.” In the Caribbean, societies grapple with a higher rate of sexual violence per capita than the global average, with 46% of women experiencing some form of gender-based violence. 

Event Details:

Name: The Gender-Based Violence Walk 2026

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Start Location: The Botanical Gardens

Starting Time: 2:00 pm

Registration: https://qrco.de/bgXYuu

Support the Shelter Project: https://gofund.me/9bba6cc27

For inquiries or interviews, please contact IHO at +1 268-778-4446 or [email protected]. 

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