Network Against Gender Based Violence has commenced their annual 16 Days of Activism, a campaign meant to raise awareness about all forms of violence against women and girls.
Commemorated world-wide, the objective is to make sure stringent measures are put in place to end all forms of gender-based violence against women and children.
This year the Network Against Gender Based’s theme is “End Gender Based-Violence in the World of Work”.
The national coordinator for the network, Mr. Fallu Sowe, said that statistics have shown that women are the most vulnerable people when it comes to gender-based violence thus their network is here to ensure that they are safe and their rights are equally protected.
The goal of the campaign is to galvanize efforts to end all forms of sexual and gender-based violence in The Gambia. “Gender-based violence is a grave human rights violation because it inequitably affects women and girls. It comes in many forms; physical, sexual, psychological and emotional violence which have serious consequences ranging from immediate to long-term effects,” Mr Sowe stressed.
In their quest to make sure everyone gets a comprehensive understanding of what gender-based violence stands for, the network will be traveling in the length and breadth of the country and organizing community outreach programs to raise awareness on the effects of sexual violence and encourage community members to report gender-based violence cases to authorities and not sweep them under the rug.
The network will also engage school going children, teachers and authorities to prevent sexual and gender-based violence in schools, protect survivors and ensure alleged perpetrators face justice. The network will also encourage schools to include talks on gender-based violence issues as a priority in their school extracurricular activities and promote gender friendly initiatives in their respective schools.
Mr. Sowe appeals to the government to commit some funds to support survivors and victims of gender-based violence while fighting to completely eradicate gender-based violence in The Gambia.
