By Sulaiman Jalloh

Government through the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information and Civic Education and partners has, on Monday, July 8, 2024, held a town hall meeting on the fight against Sexual Gender-Base Violence (SGBV) at the Freetown City Hall on Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown.

The town hall meeting was intended to engage members of the public including school going children, parents, state actors and development partners on the impact of SGBV in the Sierra Leonean society.

Making her submission, the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs Dr. Isata Mahio, expressed thanks and appreciation to attendees for gracing the occasion, adding that the fight against SGBV is a national issue hence the town hall meeting was important.

According to the minister, the complaints and cries her ministry get is coming from the length and breadth of the country, noting the conflicting stories indicate that the fight must be treated with all seriousness. “As a country, it is time we came together and shared the same thought in the fight against SGBV,” Dr. Mahio asserted, adding that, “Sexual harassment and assault are getting out of hands and that they require a holistic fight to salvage the situation.” She therefore called on every citizen from all facets of life to join the fight, adding that the town hall meeting will be decentralized.

The Executive Director of Rainbow Initiative, Daniel Kettor, said that his institution had conducted a survey across the country and come out with some findings and recommendations, noting one of their findings that courses SGBV is that there are social norms that influence something, he said, customs and traditions play a significant role in shaping the attitudes, behaviour, and practice of community members making them resist to change regarding SGBV issues. Rainbow findings also include, but limited to, ineffective support for GBV survivors, compromise on sexual matters, awareness of GBV risks among others.

Mr. Kettor however said his institution is recommending for the strengthening community engagement, sustainable support systems, justice and accountability, multi-sectoral collaboration and more. “We are recommending that there should be improve access to justice for GBV survivors by addressing delays and denials, enhancing the responsiveness of the police and judiciary system, and strengthening coordination between relevant stakeholders” he asserted

The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby noted that issues of SGBV is very serious and it should be treated with the seriousness it deserved and that his ministry has opened one-stop centers across the country, the centers, he said, are providing free treatment for survivors of SGBV.

Giving statistics of SGBV cases in the country, the minister said in 2019, the country recorded about four thousand and five hundred (4,500) something, he said, is unacceptable hence they are working in solidarity with victims. He noted that medical doctors normally provide test result and also give medical evidence in courts when cases of SGBV are arraigned.

On his part, the Inspector General of Police, William Fayia Sellu said their work is to investigate, prosecute and create awareness to community members on the danger of sexual gender-based violence and they have, over the years, created impact on the campaign. He said more often than not they work with the Rainbow Center to ensure effective collaboration between the two entities, pointing out that victims are interviewed in isolated areas, stressing that as law enforcement body they cannot compromise cases of such.

Sharing her experience, one survivor, Edwina Hawa Jamiru, disclosed that she was raped by a military officer in Kenema at the time she was trying to take her WASSCE but was rescued by Rainbow who provided her psycho social counselling, something, she said, helped her greatly in pursuing her educational carrier and she is currently studying Law at Fourah Bay College (FBC) University of Sierra Leone (USL).

Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on wednesday, July 10th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)