By Adama Makasuba
Network against Gender Based Violence in partnership with United Nations Development Fund will on Monday launched 16-day activism campaign against all forms of sexual and gender based violence in the country.
This year marks 27 years since the launch of the campaign in 1991 seeking to eliminate violence against people especially women around the globe. It also seeks to reflect core principle of transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and reinforces the UN Women Campaign to world free from violence for all women and girls.
Despite The Gambia being a signatory to a convention that protects women and children from all forms of violence.
National coordinator Fallou Sowe speaking at a news conference on Action Aid office described gender based violence a “grave human rights violation” and because it inequality affects women and girls that it is otherwise referred to as “violence against women and girl.”
He added: “despite all the advocacy and awareness creation done by Civil Society Organizations and Government Institutions in partners with UN Agencies and donor organizations to end all forms of violence against women and girls over the past two decades, gender based violence and discrimination against women and girls still continues to be a big threat to women and girls in our communities, work places, educational institutions and security forces.”
He said despite implementation of domestic laws against gender based violence that “the laws are not been effectively enforced to archive the desired goal” adding his office survey collected from One-stop Centre and other service delivery point continue to show “increase in number of sexual violence cases reported from 2014 to 2018.”
The consequences negatively affect not only women’s general well-being and realization of their potentials, but also deplete our nation’s human capital and undermine our development efforts, he added.
