By Hajaratu Kalokoh
The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) has held a dialogue session on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the country. The panel discussion, which was held as part of the International Day of Women celebration, took place at Shangri La, an entertainment center in Freetown.
The discussion was moderated by TV journalist, Antonia Howard. The topic of discussion was: ‘’Examining Women’s Rights: Reversing the Scourge of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Sierra Leone.”
Four panelists, with backgrounds ranging from activism to NGO and law enforcement, discussed some of the prevalent issues related to Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
OSIWA, which operates in 15 different countries in West Africa, works mainly with the media and civil society on issues surrounding governance, law, justice and human rights.
Joe Pemagbi, Country Officer for OSIWA, noted that efforts against SGBV should not be left to one ministry, because they required collective responsibility.
‘’SGBV is not just about Ministry of Social Welfare and now Gender and Children Affairs; no, that is a huge mistake. The ministries of Health, Basic Education, Tertiary Education (should be involved). It is a multisectoral endeavor - we must have an entrenched approach towards dealing with sexual and gender based violence,’’ he stated.
He added: ‘’There is no way we are going to cut this menace if we don’t have medical kits in our health center. If somebody is abused and that person is taken to the hospital and you cannot even test that person for HIV and other STD (because) we do not have regular supplies at the end of the day, what is going to happen?’’ he lamented.
SGBV has been on the increase for a while in Sierra Leone. Last year President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency on rape and other sexual offenses.
In the aftermath of that presidential declaration, campaigners rallied for the passing of a new Sexual Offences Act, which they succeeded in doing with the enactment of the amended Sexual Offences Act.
Despite the enthusiasm by campaigners and government to minimize SGBV, life hasn’t been easy for victims.
Survivors of rape and SGBV are still paying for medical treatment, whiles the legal processes in Police and the judiciary are either notoriously slow or totally compromised.
Detective Joan Bull, Senior State Counsel, who was part of the OSIWA funded panel discussion, said in 2019 the Family Support Unit (FSU) registered more than 10,000 SGBV cases nationwide.
According to Detective Bull, 597 cases were reported for child abuse, 8,110 for domestic violence and 3, 607 cases of sexual assaults.
Fatmata Sorie, Lawyer and chairperson of the Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice (LAWYERS) explained that SGBV did not only relate to rape.
She said it also deals with the inability of some people to “co-exist with others in a peaceful environment.”
Sorie’s organization was instrumental in pushing the reviewed Sexual Offences Act in parliament last year.
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