By Saio Marrah
The Gender Analyst of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Sierra Leone, Kadiatu Bachalle-Taylor during the institution’s commemoration of the 16 days of activism against Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), solicited action to prevent violence against women and girls.
Ms. Bachalle-Taylor was speaking at the UN agency’s country office in Freetown on Friday 8th December, 2023.
According to her, there are many women and girls in Sierra Leone that are suffering from all forms of SGBV.
“Statistics have shown that 45% of our girls are pregnant in this country and we have 26.9% of those girls that are pregnant before the age of 15,”she said, citing Sierra Leone’s Demographic Health Survey 2019.
Ms. Bachalle-Taylor added: “…so therefore this calls for a kind of action and today we are here to do just that.”
In his opening remarks, Resident Representative of UNDP to Sierra Leone, Fredrick Hans Ampiah, said 80% of young people in prison in the country are connected to Sexual and Gender Based Violence related cases. Such figures he said were provided by Correctional Service personnel during a visit by UNDP officials.
He thus called on especially the male youths to be aware of the said statistics and pointed out that when they have problems related to SGBV they will end up in prison.
He also advised the male youth staff of UNDP not to engage in any form of violence against women and girls or sexual intercourse with girls below the age of 18.
According to him, activism is part of efforts at advocacy and full commitment to the fight against SGBV by breaking the silence in the country.
Ampiah thus called on all to invest in the agenda by increasing knowledge about SGBV in the country.
The commemoration was climaxed with a musical performance and messages preaching against all forms of violence against women and girls.
“Invest to prevent violence against women and girls,” was the slogan of the event.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (15/12/23)
