By Osman Hardy Jalloh
Opportunity Training Centre, (OTC) Kenema, an organization catering to persons living with impairment, has on the 26th and 27 May 2022, adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards sexual exploitation and abuse of its beneficiaries, following a two-day training on Sexual Harassment Policy at the institution’s conference hall in Kenema.
The training was organized and executed in partnership with Engineers without Borders, Denmark, (OTC’s major donors), OTC Administration and One Village Partner (OVP), with the objective of creating awareness on sexual harassment issues generally related to women living with impairment, to empower them and raise their confidence. It encourages women living with impairment to say NO to sexual harassment, and to be aware of the procedure for reporting issues related to sexual harassment and abuse.
During the interactive sessions, the facilitators from OVP guided the participants through topics such as gender-based discrimination, sexual coercion, gender equity, sexual harassment, harassment, and personal boundaries.
The causes, effects, and prevention of sexual harassment were also discussed in small groups and at the plenary. The second day of the training was devoted to the discussion on OTC’s Sexual Exploitation Policy.
Speaking after the training, the Women Empowerment Programme Manager of One Village Partner Network, Cheryl Acheampong underscored the importance of providing the required knowledge about sexual violence to vulnerable categories of people in society, in an effort to minimize the rate at which it occurs.
"As organizations fighting for equal opportunity for people living with impairments, we thought it necessary to have trained with the beneficiaries and management of OTC to increase their knowledge on sexual harassment and encourage persons living with impairment to speak up when faced with such situations’’, she said.
Acheampong said that based on their findings, most of the participants do not even know that rape emanates from sexual harassment. “So with this training, we are confident that most of the things they used to do which they thought were not forms of harassment will be stopped and they can report issues of such to the appropriate authorities,” she stated.
Reverend Sister Anthonia Ezeibekwe, Student Counsellor at O TC Kenema said issues of sexual harassment are concerns to any society and persons living with impairment suffer more because of their condition.
"This training has empowered them to speak out and report to the designated authority where they would be listened to and their concerns will be taken up until justice is done," she explained.
A beneficiary Sallaymatu Brima, lauded the initiative and expressed appreciation for the knowledge gained on sexual harassment and the need to report such issues. She called for a continuation of such an engagement.
Another beneficiary, Lamin Kamara reacting to the training said: "We have learnt a lot. For me, I wasn't aware that some of these actions they mentioned amount to sexual harassment except today. Previously, we just saw them as a normal routine and we were afraid to speak up, but with this training, I now have the confidence to talk to the appropriate authorities when such issues arise”.
Kamara said they were looking forward to more training of that nature.
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