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PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: davia@endtodv.org
Men and Boys in the Eastern Caribbean Face Unique Challenges, with Focus on St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda
February 27, 2025 – Despite their importance, the difficulties faced by men and boys in the Caribbean often go unnoticed. This press release explores education, health, homicides, suicide, and homelessness in the Caribbean with a special focus on St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, to contribute to a broader understanding of these issues.
Education:
In St. Kitts and Nevis, boys are 5 percentage points less likely than girls to complete lower secondary education. (1)
In Antigua and Barbuda, girls outperform boys in lower secondary education completion (124.5% vs. 116.3%). (2) Regarding preschool education, the gross enrollment rate is 74% for girls and 67% for boys. (3)
Health:
In St. Kitts and Nevis, a significant life expectancy gender gap exists: in 2022, women had a life expectancy of 75.67 years, while men had notably lower at 68.68 years. (4) In Antigua and Barbuda, women also have a higher life expectancy (81.65 years) compared to men (76.51 years). (5)
Violence and Homicides
Over the past decade, St. Kitts and Nevis has recorded one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Armed violence and organized crime remain persistent issues, with more than 85% of perpetrators and victims being young men between the ages of 16 and 35. (6)
In 2021, men in Antigua and Barbuda also had a significantly higher mortality rate due to violence compared to women, although less extreme than in St. Kitts and Nevis. The homicide rate was 24.7 per 100,000 men, while for women it was 10.3 per 100,000. (7)
Suicide
Male suicide rates are alarmingly high in the Caribbean. Approximately 79% of suicides occur among men, with an age-adjusted suicide rate more than three times higher than that of women. (8)
Homelessness:
In the Caribbean region, 78.3% of homeless individuals are men, while 25.8% are women. Additionally, 75.3% of people living on the streets have reported being in extreme vulnerability. (9)
Conclusion:
Understanding the inequalities affecting men and boys in the Caribbean is key to developing public policies to effectively address these challenges. Governments and organizations should take concrete measures to reduce these disparities, which will improve the quality of life for the whole population. (10)
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen also will benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
2.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/economies/st-kitts-and-nevis
7. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/vc-ihr-psrc-p5?gender=male