Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago Tya Jane Ramey has revealed that she was treated for mental illness for several years as a young girl. She said the love and support of her mother and the members of the community in which she was raised enabled her to gain confidence and self-esteem.

Ramey made the revelation, on Tuesday, while delivering the keynote address at a forum to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, at the Bon Accord Canaan Multipurpose Facility.

The event, hosted by Women of Substance, was titled 'Speak It Out.'

It addressed domestic abuse and other issues plaguing women and girls.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the observance.

Its theme is Our Time Is Now, Our Rights, Our Future. Ramey, who was born in the US, represented TT in London at Miss World in 2019, where she placed among the top 40 contestants.

Addressing students from several of Tobago's secondary schools, Ramey, 24, said her confidence did not come easy, primarily because of the challenges she experienced in not having a father in her household.

Saying her father had 'lots of children,' Ramey said she grew up with her mother but benefitted from the love and support of the people in her community.

'But what we didn't talk about is the therapy sessions that I attended to understand what this gap and absence of a father meant.

'What we did not talk about was the way I wanted to see a representation of a male figure at my graduation.

'What they did not talk about was the way I battled with my mental health at a young age and the ways that I had to overcome that step by step, moment by moment and having the support of the people around me.'

Ramey said that despite her father's absence, she still managed to excel in sports and represented TT in volleyball for about five years.

Ramey, who will represent this country at this Miss Universe pageant in Costa Rica, next year, told the students,

'I am saying all of this to say that your experiences that may not be as favourable can work in your benefit, that you are not defined by those negative experiences. You have the power to change that so that you can become the best version of yourselves.'

Ramey based her interactive discourse on the theme of agency, claiming ownership of one's life and the consequences and decisions that arise from those choices.

'What I have found after celebrating ten years of the girl child is that you don't often assume this role of agency. Sometimes we don't have it.

'But I want to teach Caribbean girls, in particular, because we have a lot more benefits than girls in other parts of the world and I want to teach you how to assume that agency.'

Ramey, a social worker, runs a programme called Intangible Events, which offers young women training in etiquette, public speaking, posture, and personal development among other areas. She said the programme has helped many young women discover their agency. Women of Substance founder and CEO Onika Mars, International Gender Envoy, British High Commission, Alicia Herbert