16 Days of Activism 2024: Rage & Resilience
Every year, Equality Bahamas hosts a series of events during the Global 16 Days Campaign (also known as 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence) every year. This year, our theme was on Rage (as a positive, productive energy) and Resilience (as a farce and insult).
Over the course of 16 days from November 25 to December 10, we explored this theme with local Bahamian, Caribbean, and global activists and experts and a variety of events in-person in Nassau and online.
Check out all the events at a glance here.
November 25 – Resilience and Other Myths with Soraya Chemaly
We kicked things off on November 25 at 6pm EST with feminist, activist, and author Soraya Chemaly on her new book, The Resilience Myth, along with Rage Becomes Her, and the learnings and ideas we can apply to the feminist and women’s rights movements as we work to build community. We talked about the importance of resisting the idea and expectation that we must all struggle alone to “bounce back” from trauma. We also looked at rage as a positive force that can fuel our activism.
November 26 – Through Rage to Activism with Patrice Daniel, Erin Greene & Jessica Russell
Rage is a powerful force that we can harness for impactful work in our communities. Psychotherapist and activist Patrice Daniel (Barbados), therapist Jessica Russell (Grand Bahama), and human rights advocate Erin Greene (New Providence) was in conversation about how rage is perceived, experienced and expressed, who is allowed to have it, how it can be useful to us, and how we can embrace rage and make it a catalyst for action.
November 28 – Rage is a Catalyst with Erika Robinson
Our first in-person event of 16 Days was held at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas at 6pm EST on Wednesday November 28. Empowerment Coach Erika Robinson guided us through an interactive workshop on using rage as a catalyst.
Click Here to Watch The First Portion
November 30 – Questioning Climate Resilience with Marjahn Finlayson
After an amazing 4 part series on climate change, Marjahn Finlayson joined us for another informative, fun chat, this time questioning the concept of climate resilience. “Resilience” is a buzzword in the climate space, more and more, adaptation and mitigation prove insufficient as we experience more devastating climate disasters at higher frequencies than ever before. We were in conversation with Marjahn Finlayson about the problem with the dominant framings of resilience, particularly for The Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Small Island Developing States. We spoke about climate financing, false solutions, the responsibility of individuals to be smarter, better, more conscious consumers, and the functions and benefits of community.
December 2 – Leveraging CEDAW for Resilient Systems with Marion Bethel
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is known as the bill of women’s rights, and it was ratified by The Bahamas in 1993. Marion Bethel recently completed her second and final term as a CEDAW Committee Member, reviewing UN Member States, assessing their progress toward compliance, and making recommendations. We were in conversation with Marion Bethel about the basics of CEDAW, ways to use it in our advocacy, and the importance of building systems that make it unnecessary for us, as individuals, to be “strong,” “resilient,” and able to “bounce back” on our own.
December 3 – Channeling Rage: A Theatre Workshop with Paula Hamilton-Smith
Rage may not come easily to women and girls who have been trained and pressured to avoid it at all costs. Even those of us who experience it may struggle to express it. Let’s enter the world of theater! Trinidadian actor and theater teacher Paula Hamilton Smith facilitated a workshop to help us to get comfortable with feeling rage and letting it out. Let’s get loud!
Click Here to Watch the First Segment
December 4 – Managing Disasters with Barrise Griffin
Barrise Griffin is the Master of Disaster, so we were in conversation with her about disaster management, focusing on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. We know that it cannot be about individual actions, contingent on our limited resources, but has to be systemic and for the benefit of all.
December 5 – Femicide in the Caribbean with Taitu Heron
Femicide is the killing of a woman or girl because of her sex or gender. The term is not used in The Bahamas or the rest of the Caribbean which means the killings of women and girls are not properly counted or analyzed. We were in conversation with Taitu Heron about her research on femicide in select countries in the Caribbean. We got into cases of femicide, including at least one that resulted from neglect by the State. We are looking forward to finding a way forward in research on femicide and ensuring that cases are recorded and the analysis contributes to the work to prevent femicide and gender-based violence.
December 7 – Making Our Rage Visible with Sonia Farmer & Margot Bethel
It’s a (printmaking) party in the front and the back at Poinciana Paper Press, all day! Participants were able to drop in at #12 Parkgate Road, any time between 10am and 5pm, for stamp-making with Sonia Farmer and screenprinting with Margot Bethel! We made great art together, and everyone had a keepsake to take home.
Staceyann Chin has been writing her rage for years, and taking over rooms with hundreds of people, making it impossible for anyone to fail to share in that rage. In this in-person workshop at Poinciana Paper Press, she guided us in tapping into our own and putting it on the page. She travelled from Jamaica to be with us for this in person event!
December 10 – Let’s Make a Rage Book! with Sonia Farmer
For the last day of 16 Days and Human Rights Day, we met in person. Poinciana Paper Press is one of our favourite places to be, especially when Sonia Farmer is facilitating a workshop. Everyone needs a place to put their rage. For some of us, it’s the page. Together, we designed a book, giving ourselves a space to put the rage we know we need to feel and express. Oh, and we had snacks! Everyone left with their own book, and a few new friends too.