By Ruth Yeabu Sesay
Rainbo Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization in Sierra Leone recently organized sixteen days of activism to educate people on the ills of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the country.
“What were you wearing exhibition” climaxed the series of events, depicting the clothes women and girls were wearing at the time they were sexually assaulted, to indicate that provocative attire was not a factor.
The Irish Ambassador, Claire Buckley, in her address said every year they use the sixteen days activism to shed light on how to end SGBV in Sierra Leone. She commended the decision of Rainbo Initiative to document the stories of these survivors as these videos will do a lot in telling the stories of women, girls and boys and proffer solutions against SGBV in Sierra Leone.
Buckley, said the Rainbo is considered a place of hope and that “women and girls are the heart of everything’’ they do at Rainbo. She said they will continue to support change that deals with issues of women and children.
A film of SGBV survivors was played and the stories of these women, girls and boys moved many in the audience.
A survivor of sexual assault, Fatmata Kargbo said she was drugged and raped by a man she thought was a helper, and there was nothing she could do because she had no one to stand by her. Her dream of becoming a lawyer who advocates for marginalized persons was shattered.
Another survivor who was 13 when she was raped stated that, a Police officerwho was a tenant at the compound she resided offered her Paracetamol tablets after she complained about her headache but he drugged and raped her instead. She was surprised to notice that she was bleeding after coming around.
The display of the various clothes was a way of telling people that there is no link between what a woman wears and sexual assault. The theme for this year was “unite to end violence against women and girls”.
The various survivors faced death threats should they report about what happened to them.
Rainbo currently runs six centres in Freetown, Kenema,Makeni, Bo, and Kambia and promotes best practices with government and other service providers to enhance effective service delivery on the protection and welfare of women and children.
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