By Millicent Senava Mannah
As part of their activities of the 16 days of activism, one of the leading coalitions in the country, the Community of Practice (COP), comprising INGOs, NGOs, CBOs, CSOs and embassies, working towards the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in society, has commenced their joint campaign in different communities within the Western area and Western rural districts geared towards raising awareness on the alarming rate at which women face discrimination, harassment and abuse in the hands of intimate partners, family members or community residents.
Their engagements in communities are part of commitment to end gender based violence against women and girls in the country.
It must be noted that the campaign mounted by the Community of Practice captures many issues that affect women and girls ranging from sexual abuse, female genital mutilation, equality and equity.
Secretary General of the aforementioned Coalition, Maseray Koroma, said that men and boys should also join the campaign in order to advocate for the protection of the rights of women and girls in the country further maintaining that women are their mothers, sisters and wives and that they should be treated with dignity and respect and not the other way round.
According to her, the fight against Sexual Gender Based Violence is everybody’s fight stating how no man would want to see his mother, sister or daughter being treated anyhow, therefore all women must be treated in dignified ways.
Alpha Barrie, Head of Outreach and Community Engagement, COP, stated that with Female Genital Mutilation parents that intend for their child to go through it must seek the consent of their children, that it must not be forced on them more especially when the children are below 18 years of age.
He added that, FGM has some health implications and can affect women and girls in many ways such as causing bleeding, pain and leading to psychological trauma, anxiety, disorder and even death.
Barrie called on everyone to join hands to support, protect , respect and promote women and girls’ rights, in order for them to contribute to sustainable development in the country, emphasizing that, men must not use poverty or stress as an excuse to justify their violent actions against women and girls underscoring how such violence is considered a crime and is punishable by law.
According to him, the Coalition looks forward to spark a change in the perception of women being objects to be abused saying rather they must be considered as back bones of development.
Speaking to this medium, Santos Kamara, Head of the Media Committee said he is positive that their work will bring about transformation and change within this 16 Days of active engagement expressing the belief that the feedback received from the residents of Wellington, Dokorthy and other Communities, show how residents are ready for development.
Residents also assured members of the Coalition of their commitment to end Gender Based Violence in their respective communities.
