By Politico Staff Writer
UN Women Sierra Leone has held a regional consultation with traditional and faith leaders on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) in the country.
The two-day meeting which started at the Atlantic Hotel in Freetown on the 16th of April 2024 aims to meaningfully partner with powerful agents of social change such as traditional and religious leaders to shift underlying structures of power within communities. It also aims to end harmful practices, address religious misconceptions, and transform cultural norms around violence against women and girls.
The meeting further looked at the experiences of traditional and faith leaders toward addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) in their communities- successes, and areas for improvement whilst reviewing actions and commitments already made.
In his statement, the Secretary General of the National Council of Paramount Chiefs, Paramount Chief (PC) Fayia Sundufu Brima Sovula IV said that they have been working with UN Women in most of their interventions towards the elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and GBV. He noted that the Council is fighting very hard towards the peace and stability of the country, saying they are in the fight against GBV to sanitize their communities.
He confirmed that there have been negative activities in various communities, but said this is the time they started working with UN Women as they have been able to curtail most of the mishaps in their respective communities.
A representative from the Inter-Religious Council Sierra Leone (IRCSL), Reverend Tamba Eric Mbayo noted that GBV has been one of the issues they have been concerned with as religious leaders and which has been part of their sermons in mosques and churches.
He said for the past five years, they have collaborated with UNICEF to advocate against SGBV and have campaigned against early marriages, early pregnancy, wife battering, and all forms of cruel treatment against women and girls including female genital mutilation.
According to the Programme Specialist on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Ella Syl-Macfoy, the meeting will utilize the engagements by high-level leaders in West Africa who have worked in enhancing knowledge on women empowerment, SGBV, and harmful practices.
She said the “overall objectives of these activities is to support partnerships between the communities of the traditional leaders, regional faith-based organizations and relevant stakeholders to strengthening the engagement with prevention and response to violence against women and girls, SGBV, harmful practices and promotion of sexual reproductive health in West Africa.”
The new UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, Seraphine Wakana in her keynote address stated that GBV is still a problem in the country and it is visible in the 2019 Health survey, “Where an alarming 62% of Women aged between 15 and 49 have been reportedly experiencing physical or sexual violence.”
She quoted a UNFPA report which indicated that 60% of married women aged between 15 and 49 accounted for over a thousand violence whether physical, sexual, or emotional by their husband or partner. Wakana pointed out that Sierra Leone like many other nations faces the challenge of GBV that undermines progress towards Gender equality and sustainability development. The repercussions of GBV she said extend beyond individuals, affecting families and society as a whole.
She reiterated that the gathering is to underscore the importance of leveraging the influences to combat GBV effectively. She warned that traditional and cultural practices that perpetuate violence against women and girls must be transformed and harmful stereotypes and discriminatory beliefs challenged.
The new UN Resident Coordinator assured that the UN in Sierra Leone remains steadfast in its commitment to boosting this initiative through partnerships with local leaders and civil society, reinforcing prevention mechanisms, improving survivors access to justice and fostering community-led initiatives, promoting gender equality and social inclusion.
UN Women aims to support UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and work with governments and civil society organizations to design laws, policies, programmes, and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls nationwide.
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