Survey reveals that sixty percent of rape victims gang raped, more than half in their own homes, appalling increase in number of civilian rapists
An extensive study of rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) commissioned by Oxfam and conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, shows that 60 percent of rape victims surveyed were gang raped by armed men and more than half of assaults took place in the supposed safety of the family home at night, often in the presence of the victim’s husband and children.
While the majority of rapists were either soldiers or militiamen, the report also shows a shocking 17-fold increase in rapes carried out by civilians between 2004 and 2008.
The report, "Now, the world is without me", is based on the study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, which analyzed information collected from 4,311 female rape victims who were treated in Panzi hospital in South Kivu Province over a four-year period.
A wake-up call
The report found that the incidence of rape spiked during military activities. Given the ongoing offensives against militia groups in eastern Congo, the report has real relevance for the situation in DRC today. Over 5,000 people were raped in South Kivu in 2009, according to the UN. The report comes out ahead of the UN Security Council visit to DRC this weekend, with the council set to renew the UN peacekeepers mandate in May.
Krista Riddley, Oxfam's Director of Humanitarian Policy, said:
“Rape of this scale and brutality is scandalous. This is a wake-up call at a time when plans are being discussed for UN peacekeepers to leave the country. The situation is not secure if a woman can’t even sleep safely in her own bed at night. The report shows when and where women are attacked, and why peacekeepers must continue to play a vital role in creating security while the Congolese government builds up its own capacity to keep civilians from harm.”
The study shows that 56 percent of assaults were carried out in the family home by armed men, while 16 percent took place in fields and almost 15 percent in the forest. Fifty-seven percent of assaults were carried out at night. Sexual slavery was also reported, affecting 12 percent of the women in the sample, with some women being held captive for years.
stigma delays treatment
The report also offers insights into the stigma facing women within their families after rape and the problems they face getting medical care. Less than one percent of women came to Panzi hospital with their husbands and nine percent had been abandoned by their spouse. One in three women came alone.
This stigma leads to delays in seeking treatment, with only 12 percent of the women coming to Panzi within a month of the assault. Very few women came for treatment in time to prevent HIV infection. Over 50 percent of women waited more than a year before seeking treatment, with a significant number waiting more than three years.
Krista Riddley from Oxfam said:
“Panzi is the only hospital of its kind in South Kivu, which is home to some 5 million people. Many women from rural areas cannot make the journey and often die from the complications associated with brutal rape. Rich country donors together with the Congolese government need to radically increase the medical services available for survivors of sexual violence in Congo’s remote towns and villages. Every woman should be able to get the treatment she needs.”
The research found that fewer than one percent of rapes were perpetrated by civilians in 2004. By 2008, that proportion had gone up to 38 percent.
Few rapists are prosecuted
Susan Bartels, the study’s lead researcher from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said, “This study confirms what has only been reported anecdotally until now: sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life. The scale of rape over Congo’s years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable. Although Congo has one of the most progressive laws on rape in Africa, few rapists are prosecuted. The law must be enforced and justice put within reach of survivors.”
The report calls on the Congolese government and the international community to:
Increase provision of medical care for survivors of sexual violence, particularly in rural areas. The easier it is to get help locally, the more likely women will be to get timely support for HIV and the more able they will be to manage the risk of others finding out. Stigma remains a significant barrier to accessing care following sexual violence.
Ensure that the protection provided by the UN peacekeepers and Congolese security services is tailored to local realities. The peacekeepers and security services need to consult with the local community to provide innovative solutions, such as early warning systems and night patrols to help meet their needs. This is happening in some areas and needs to be rolled out more systematically to respond to the threats this report highlights.
Reform the Congolese security sector and justice system to ensure that there is zero tolerance for rape, whether it is committed by civilians, militiamen, or soldiers.
Notes to editors
The research was conducted by Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and funded by Oxfam America.
Just over half of perpetrators - 52 percent - were identified as being armed combatants. Another 42 percent identified only as “assailants,” but the researchers say the analysis of data suggests this group is also composed largely of armed men.
This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Panzi Hospital. Interviews were conducted on sexual violence survivors as they presented to the hospital between 2004 and 2008. The interviews were conducted in private by trained female officers using a two-paged, semi-structured questionnaire as the victims came in for treatment. Researchers from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative entered the data into an electronic spreadsheet and quantitative as well as qualitative analysis was performed. 4,311 of the 9,709 sexual violence survivors presenting to Panzi Hospital between 2004 and 2008 were interviewed.
The report found that the total number of reported assaults at Panzi hospital had steadily decreased between 2004 to 2008, with military rape decreasing by 77 percent over the same period. However, figures have been affected by a number of particularly serious incidents in 2004, such as one single weekend in June when up to 16,000 women were reportedly raped by military forces in Bukavu.
In 2009, cases of military rape have again surged as a result of the Kimia II military offensive, with over 9,000 people – mostly women and girls, but also men and boys – raped in the affected provinces over the course of the year. Data is not yet available on the levels of rape associated with new military offensives in 2010.
Testimonies from the report (more available from Oxfam):
“It was a night in 2007 and my family and I were sleeping in our home. There was a knock from outside; assailants ordered my husband to open the door. A group of six men in military uniform, four armed with guns and two unarmed, came into the house. They started to loot all our valuables. They took us outside and forced us to follow them to the forest. Once we arrived in the forest, they freed my husband but forced me to continue going deeper into the bush with them. A commander had chosen me to be his wife and he kept me in the forest for seven months, raping me anytime he wanted. Because he did not think I was capable of escaping, he allowed me to wander alone and this is when I escaped.”
“My family and I were all sleeping when the soldiers arrived. They tied my husband’s hands behind his back and then they took turns raping me. Afterwards they took my husband and me to the forest. When my husband resisted they shot and killed him. I spent three weeks in the forest until one night I was able to escape. When I arrived home, I discovered that my little child was dead.”
“My husband and I were sleeping in our house. The children were sleeping in the house next door. The soldiers arrived and brought my daughter to our house where they raped her in the presence of my husband and me. Afterwards they demanded that my husband rape my daughter but he refused so they shot him. Then they went into the other house where they found my three sons. They killed all three of my boys. After killing them, two soldiers raped me one after the other,”
“We found them in our house. They pillaged everything. They put my husband on the bed and beat him. Then two of the soldiers raped me. This story is so tragic - I can’t believe this happened to me. I prefer death instead of life. Now, the world is without me because of my situation.”
Contact information
For more information and interviews contact
Rebecca Wynn on + 44 (0) 7769 887139 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting + 44 (0) 7769 887139 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting + 44 (0) 7769 887139 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting + 44 (0) 7769 887139 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting or rwynn@oxfam.org.uk
Liz Lucas on +1 617 785 7772 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1 617 785 7772 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1 617 785 7772 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1 617 785 7772 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting or llucas@oxfamamerica.org
source:http://www.oxfam.org
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
WODD Secretary General on Women in Democratic Governance
This is a paper presented by Mrs. Amie Sillah Sarr, Secretary General of Women for Democracy and Development (WODD) on the celebrations of the International Women’s Day organised by the Gambia Teachers Union (GTU) Women’s Wing on Wednesday, 7th April, 2010 at its headquarters in Kanifing.
“My Paper deals with Women’s PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNANCE
.
The Gambia’s statistics on Democratic Governance is not quite impressive. 33.3% of women occupy Cabinet posts. That is six women out of a Cabinet of 18 persons, including the Vice President. Less than 10% of women occupy a National Assembly of 53 Persons. That is 2 elected and 2 nominated, including the Speaker of The National Assembly. The picture at the Local Government level is also dismal.
The Gambia ratified the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. The CEDAW Protocol is not signed by The Gambia Government. The Protocol to the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa known as the Maputo Protocol is ratified in 2005.
At first with reservations but with further lobbying and advocacy, the reservations were lifted up. The Gambia is yet to domesticate and implement the Articles of CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol in the form of a Women’s Bill which should be tabled before the National Assembly for enactment into law to be used by our law courts to protect women’s rights.
The Gambia has a plural legal system consisting of Legislative, Customary and Islamic Sharia Law. The three bodies of law create contradictions and inconsistencies and there are very discriminatory provisions in all three sources of law, particularly in the areas of family and property law.
There are the three arms of Government - The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The Fourth Estate, which has a ‘Watch dog’ role is the Media and which under a democratic disposition should hold all the three arms of Government Accountable and Transparent to the people.
Women should be in the Executive as a President, a Vice President or hold Cabinet positions. Women can form Political Parties if they have the clout and the qualification. In the Gambia, the Executive should be encouraged to appoint more capable women for Cabinet posts. The ruling and opposition parties should fill in capable female candidates and create a conducive environment for it to happen.
More quality women of divergent views are needed in the National Assembly to carry forward the Gender and Good Governance debate.
In the Judiciary, The Gambia has registered a lot of successes. There are more women in the Legal System. There are more women Magistrates and Justices.
In the Media, more women are now working for the media but few occupy the top echelon in both the Print and Electronic Media, be it Public or Private. The Gambia has to work hard to change the situation.
In 2005, the illiteracy rate for Women was estimated at 65.8%. This situation is a challenge for Civic Education and Good Governance. Women come out impressively to vote in all elections but fail to vote for Gender and Good Governance. Instead Women votes are cast on sentiments and other parochial considerations.
The participation of women in the labour market is low, especially in the Formal Sector and the decision making positions.
In 2005, it was estimated that Women made up only 4.9% of the Formal Sector, while they represent 6 1.9% of the Informal Sector.
The Gambia 1997 Constitution
Section 28: The Rights of Women: (1) Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.
(2) Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men, including equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.
De jure, (by law) women are backed by the Constitution to effectively participate at all levels of democratic governance but de facto(what pertains on the ground) culture and tradition are debilitating factors barring women from effective participation.
ARTICLES FROM THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL
Art 9: PARTICIPATION
(1) State Parties shall take specific positive action to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national legislation and other measures to ensure that:
a) women participate without any discrimination in all elections;
b) women are represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes;
c) Women are equal partners with men at all levels of development and implementation of state policies and development programmes.
(2) State Parties shall ensure increase and effective representation and participation of women at all levels of decision making.
Art 17: Right to Positive Cultural Context
(1) Women shall have the right to live in a positive cultural context and to participate at all levels in the determination of Cultural Policies.
(2) (2) State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to enhance the participation of women in the formulation of Cultural Policies at all levels.
Art 13: Economic and Social Welfare Rights
State Parties shall adopt and enforce legislative and other measures to guarantee women equal opportunities in work and career advancement and other economic opportunities. In this respect, they shall:
a) promote equality of access to employment;
b) promote the right to equal remuneration for jobs of equal value for men and women;
c) ensure transparency in recruitment, promotion and dismissal of women nd combat and punish sexual harassment in the workplace;
d) guarantee women freedom to choose their occupation and protect them from exploitation by their employers violating and exploiting their fundamental rights as recognised and guaranteed by Conventions, laws and regulations in force;
e) create conditions to promote and support the occupations and economic activities of women in particular within the informal sector;
f) Establish a system of protection and social insurance for women working in the informal sector and sensitise them to adhere to it.
g) Introduce a minimum age for work and prohibit the employment of children below that age, and prohibit, combat and punish all forms of exploitation of children, especially girl-child.
h) Take the necessary measures to recognise the economic value of the work of women in the home;
i) Guarantee adequate pay and pay pre and post natal maternity leave in both private and public sectors;
j) Ensure the equal application of taxation laws to women and men;
k) Recognise and enforce the right of salaried women to the same allowances and entitlements as those granted to salaried men for their spouses and children;
1) Recognise that both parents bear the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of children and that this is a social function for which the state and the private sector have secondary responsibility;
m) Take effective legislative and administrative measures to prevent the exploitation and abuse of women in advertising and pornography.
The Gambia Government has ratified but is yet to domesticate, implement the Maputo Protocol and the CEDAW to protect the rights of women in The Gambia. The Activists in the Africa Coalition, The Gambia included, are now urging the Gambia Government to enact the Women’s Bill which consists all the above into an Act of The National Assembly, to be domesticated into our laws, to be used in the courts to protect women’s rights.
Female teachers are catalysts in the women struggle. They act as role models in the communities they are posted to. Children listen more to their teachers than their parents. As female teachers, we should encompass the trait of being a Scientist, being a researcher, a continuous learner; the role of a Saint, promote virtues by practicing it so as not to confuse children by preaching virtue and practicing evil.
To be a Servant, to serve your pupils, students at all times. How we organise our homes also tells a story of who we are.
This year’s theme for the Celebrations is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities; Progress for all” is very apt. Just as I keep on saying, Society is like a bird with two wings, Masculine and Feminine Gender. Can the bird fly with one wing? The obvious answer is a big ‘No’! Look at a woman as your Sister, your Mother and your Daughter. You want them to excel. The other woman too should excel, “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, and Progress for all.”
I thank you all all.
“My Paper deals with Women’s PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNANCE
.
The Gambia’s statistics on Democratic Governance is not quite impressive. 33.3% of women occupy Cabinet posts. That is six women out of a Cabinet of 18 persons, including the Vice President. Less than 10% of women occupy a National Assembly of 53 Persons. That is 2 elected and 2 nominated, including the Speaker of The National Assembly. The picture at the Local Government level is also dismal.
The Gambia ratified the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. The CEDAW Protocol is not signed by The Gambia Government. The Protocol to the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa known as the Maputo Protocol is ratified in 2005.
At first with reservations but with further lobbying and advocacy, the reservations were lifted up. The Gambia is yet to domesticate and implement the Articles of CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol in the form of a Women’s Bill which should be tabled before the National Assembly for enactment into law to be used by our law courts to protect women’s rights.
The Gambia has a plural legal system consisting of Legislative, Customary and Islamic Sharia Law. The three bodies of law create contradictions and inconsistencies and there are very discriminatory provisions in all three sources of law, particularly in the areas of family and property law.
There are the three arms of Government - The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The Fourth Estate, which has a ‘Watch dog’ role is the Media and which under a democratic disposition should hold all the three arms of Government Accountable and Transparent to the people.
Women should be in the Executive as a President, a Vice President or hold Cabinet positions. Women can form Political Parties if they have the clout and the qualification. In the Gambia, the Executive should be encouraged to appoint more capable women for Cabinet posts. The ruling and opposition parties should fill in capable female candidates and create a conducive environment for it to happen.
More quality women of divergent views are needed in the National Assembly to carry forward the Gender and Good Governance debate.
In the Judiciary, The Gambia has registered a lot of successes. There are more women in the Legal System. There are more women Magistrates and Justices.
In the Media, more women are now working for the media but few occupy the top echelon in both the Print and Electronic Media, be it Public or Private. The Gambia has to work hard to change the situation.
In 2005, the illiteracy rate for Women was estimated at 65.8%. This situation is a challenge for Civic Education and Good Governance. Women come out impressively to vote in all elections but fail to vote for Gender and Good Governance. Instead Women votes are cast on sentiments and other parochial considerations.
The participation of women in the labour market is low, especially in the Formal Sector and the decision making positions.
In 2005, it was estimated that Women made up only 4.9% of the Formal Sector, while they represent 6 1.9% of the Informal Sector.
The Gambia 1997 Constitution
Section 28: The Rights of Women: (1) Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.
(2) Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men, including equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.
De jure, (by law) women are backed by the Constitution to effectively participate at all levels of democratic governance but de facto(what pertains on the ground) culture and tradition are debilitating factors barring women from effective participation.
ARTICLES FROM THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL
Art 9: PARTICIPATION
(1) State Parties shall take specific positive action to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national legislation and other measures to ensure that:
a) women participate without any discrimination in all elections;
b) women are represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes;
c) Women are equal partners with men at all levels of development and implementation of state policies and development programmes.
(2) State Parties shall ensure increase and effective representation and participation of women at all levels of decision making.
Art 17: Right to Positive Cultural Context
(1) Women shall have the right to live in a positive cultural context and to participate at all levels in the determination of Cultural Policies.
(2) (2) State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to enhance the participation of women in the formulation of Cultural Policies at all levels.
Art 13: Economic and Social Welfare Rights
State Parties shall adopt and enforce legislative and other measures to guarantee women equal opportunities in work and career advancement and other economic opportunities. In this respect, they shall:
a) promote equality of access to employment;
b) promote the right to equal remuneration for jobs of equal value for men and women;
c) ensure transparency in recruitment, promotion and dismissal of women nd combat and punish sexual harassment in the workplace;
d) guarantee women freedom to choose their occupation and protect them from exploitation by their employers violating and exploiting their fundamental rights as recognised and guaranteed by Conventions, laws and regulations in force;
e) create conditions to promote and support the occupations and economic activities of women in particular within the informal sector;
f) Establish a system of protection and social insurance for women working in the informal sector and sensitise them to adhere to it.
g) Introduce a minimum age for work and prohibit the employment of children below that age, and prohibit, combat and punish all forms of exploitation of children, especially girl-child.
h) Take the necessary measures to recognise the economic value of the work of women in the home;
i) Guarantee adequate pay and pay pre and post natal maternity leave in both private and public sectors;
j) Ensure the equal application of taxation laws to women and men;
k) Recognise and enforce the right of salaried women to the same allowances and entitlements as those granted to salaried men for their spouses and children;
1) Recognise that both parents bear the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of children and that this is a social function for which the state and the private sector have secondary responsibility;
m) Take effective legislative and administrative measures to prevent the exploitation and abuse of women in advertising and pornography.
The Gambia Government has ratified but is yet to domesticate, implement the Maputo Protocol and the CEDAW to protect the rights of women in The Gambia. The Activists in the Africa Coalition, The Gambia included, are now urging the Gambia Government to enact the Women’s Bill which consists all the above into an Act of The National Assembly, to be domesticated into our laws, to be used in the courts to protect women’s rights.
Female teachers are catalysts in the women struggle. They act as role models in the communities they are posted to. Children listen more to their teachers than their parents. As female teachers, we should encompass the trait of being a Scientist, being a researcher, a continuous learner; the role of a Saint, promote virtues by practicing it so as not to confuse children by preaching virtue and practicing evil.
To be a Servant, to serve your pupils, students at all times. How we organise our homes also tells a story of who we are.
This year’s theme for the Celebrations is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities; Progress for all” is very apt. Just as I keep on saying, Society is like a bird with two wings, Masculine and Feminine Gender. Can the bird fly with one wing? The obvious answer is a big ‘No’! Look at a woman as your Sister, your Mother and your Daughter. You want them to excel. The other woman too should excel, “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, and Progress for all.”
I thank you all all.
Friday, April 2, 2010
US Embassy holds Public Lecture
In honour of the International Women's Month and the activities marking it, the United States Embassy in Banjul on Monday held a two-hour public lecture, attended by female students from different secondary schools in The Gambia.
The lecture held at the Girls Guide hall along the MDI Road in Kanifing was aimed at encouraging female secondary school students to understand the important role each of them play in determining the cause of their lives.
The Guest Speaker at the occasion was Madam Sagarr Jahateh, a legal practitioner and former magistrate.
In her lecture, Lawyer Jahateh disclosed that women in Africa are mainly oppressed, and noted that they are the most vulnerable segment of society, due to factors such as cultural values. She added that women are often verbally and physical abused.
She also stated that the socio-economic status of women was also another contributing factor that retards their contribution to national development. She however noted that with pride women in The Gambia have contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of the country.
"Today, women play an important role in The Gambia because women take part in key decision-making process, in upbringing families at home, agriculture, among others," she stated.
According to her, women have the fundamental rights as men, whom she added, include the right to education, health, right not to be discriminated against, among others.
She said African leaders have been tasked to promote the rights of women when they met in Abuja and proposed a platform of women, where gender equality was strongly emphasised.
In The Gambia, Lawyer Jahateh added, a lot of progress has been made, because women occupy decision-making positions in the government. She added that women are now joining the legal sector, occupying positions like magistrates, judges and lawyers.
She expressed the need for children and women to be protected against cultural practices, like Female Genital Multilation (FGM), saying that women need help. She described women as very hard working, despite all the challenges and constraints facing them.
Madam Cindy Cregg, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Banjul hailed Sagarr for her brilliant lecture, describing her as an asset.
source: point news paper
The lecture held at the Girls Guide hall along the MDI Road in Kanifing was aimed at encouraging female secondary school students to understand the important role each of them play in determining the cause of their lives.
The Guest Speaker at the occasion was Madam Sagarr Jahateh, a legal practitioner and former magistrate.
In her lecture, Lawyer Jahateh disclosed that women in Africa are mainly oppressed, and noted that they are the most vulnerable segment of society, due to factors such as cultural values. She added that women are often verbally and physical abused.
She also stated that the socio-economic status of women was also another contributing factor that retards their contribution to national development. She however noted that with pride women in The Gambia have contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of the country.
"Today, women play an important role in The Gambia because women take part in key decision-making process, in upbringing families at home, agriculture, among others," she stated.
According to her, women have the fundamental rights as men, whom she added, include the right to education, health, right not to be discriminated against, among others.
She said African leaders have been tasked to promote the rights of women when they met in Abuja and proposed a platform of women, where gender equality was strongly emphasised.
In The Gambia, Lawyer Jahateh added, a lot of progress has been made, because women occupy decision-making positions in the government. She added that women are now joining the legal sector, occupying positions like magistrates, judges and lawyers.
She expressed the need for children and women to be protected against cultural practices, like Female Genital Multilation (FGM), saying that women need help. She described women as very hard working, despite all the challenges and constraints facing them.
Madam Cindy Cregg, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Banjul hailed Sagarr for her brilliant lecture, describing her as an asset.
source: point news paper
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ecofepa not here to challenge any parliament - Says President Jammeh, as he launches the Association
The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh has made it categorically clear that the establishment of the Ecowas Female Parliamentarian Association (ECOFEPA) is not here to challenge any parliament including the sub-regional bloc parliament, stating that it was established to strengthen their resolve to eradicate abject poverty not only in West Africa but in the entire continent.
President Jammeh was speaking Thursday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi while delivering a keynote speech during the formal launching of Ecofepa in The Gambia. The launching of the Association, with a membership comprising of both past and present Ecowas female parliamentarians, brought together key political figures and gender experts including the Gambia?s vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, the speaker of the National Assembly, the chief justice, cabinet ministers and sub-regional parliamentarians, amongst others.
President Jammeh, whose contribution to the advancement of African women was applauded by the sub-regional delegates, described the launching of the Association as solemn and a victory for participatory democracy in the Ecowas sub-region. "It is solemn because this is the first time in contemporary history that women of substance and vision who incidentally are the elected representatives of not only women but also men from all over West Africa, have come together in unity and purpose and resolve, to complement collective efforts of statesmen and state-parties in integrating the peoples of West Africa," the president explained.
He strongly emphasised that for development to take root in West Africa, all hands must be on deck. The fact that the elected representatives are resorting to an alternative avenue different from the platform provided by the Ecowas parliament, according him, shows that there is the need for alternative views and strategies.
Crucial role of women
To this end, The Gambian leader underscored the crucial role women play in society, citing their critical position in their respective homes. He described women as first schools of thought for anybody irrespective of the person's position in the society, stressing that maximum honour and respect should be given to them. He said the importance of women in socio-economic development cannot be overemphasised, explaining that this has been the reason his government gives women empowerment topmost priority.
He however dispelled any assertion that African women are neglected, given the fact that they are today, especially in The Gambia, more empowered than during the colonial era. He stated that today in The Gambia a woman is not poor because she is a woman, and pointed out that the women of this country are today better-off due to their hard work.
He told the gathering that The Gambian women have been in the forefront in all facets of national development, citing the appointments of women in cabinet including the vice president, as well as three women being at various times speakers of the country?s legislative house, amongst others.
Unity in Ecowas
President Jammeh also used the opportunity to stress the need for unity and a pragmatic approach to the harmonisation and integration of West Africans. He bemoaned the fact that today there are enormous problems in the West African region, saying that despite being rich in terms of natural resources, it still remains poor.
The president attributed the failure and the lack of ability to utilise the region's resources to the political misunderstanding and disunity at the level of the Ecowas bloc. "Despite the 30 years existence of Ecowas, we are still more divided now than before. Thirty years of Ecowas existence, we have not shown any infrastructural development as an achievement. Thirty years of Ecowas existence, we still cannot trade among ourselves, and we cannot even harmonise our common tariff. These are the sad realities," he stated.
He pointed out that Ecowas today has two monetary zones instead of one due to the unwillingness of the Francophone and the Anglophone to come together as one. This, he stressed, is among the factors why Ecowas is still finding it difficult to harmonise and integrate the sub-region.
The Gambian leader then urged Ecofepa to discard any sort of discrimination that will undermine the success of the Association, urging the members to see themselves as one body representing the people of the sub-region irrespective of being an Anglophone or Francophone. He then assured the Association of his government's support, while also assuring the Haddy Nyang Jagne, a Gambian who was elected the first president of Ecofepa of the nation's support.
The minister of Trade, Employment and Regional Integration, Abdou Kolley lauded the Gambia's stride in women empowerment, saying the effective implementation of Ecofepa's activities will provide economic opportunities and assist women and girls meet their developmental aspirations. He stressed the need for the numerous declarations and pledges made for the welfare of women and children to continue working for their total development and protection from economic exploitation and violence in particular.
He urged the members of Ecofepa to redouble their efforts in making the association a driving force for positive change in the region. Speaking earlier, the newly elected president of Ecofepa, Honorable Haddy Nyang Jagne, who is also a National Assembly member for Jeshwang Constituency, said her association seeks to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of Article 63 of the Revised Treaty of Ecowas. This article, she informed the gathering, enjoins member states to formulate, harmonise, co-ordinate and establish appropriate policies and mechanisms for the enhancement of the economic, social and cultural conditions of women. She expressed her resolve to collaborate with all the various stakeholders with a view to consolidate the gains registered. While commending the Gambian leader for his immense support to the advancement of African women, Honorable Jagne, who is also a member of the Ecowas parliament, thanked the president of Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her support.
Gambian-born Aminatta Dibba, director of Ecowas Gender Development Centre on behalf of Dr Adrienne Diop, Commissioner for Human Development and Gender of the Ecowas Commission, said the establishment of the Association will greatly contribute in the ongoing efforts to respond adequately to the challenges posed by the legislative dimensions of the fight for gender equity and equality in the sub-region. She expressed hope that Ecofepa could play a very important role in the consolidation of democracy, good governance, the rule of law and the respect for human rights in the Ecowas region. She then thanked the president for the strides made in the women empowerment endeavours.
For her part, Katrine Wasin, who represented the president of Liberia at the launching, thanked Ecofepa for this achievement. She spoke at length on the need to improve on the capacity gap in our societies, noting that the capacity gap at our institutions leaves much to be desired.
The Liberian president's representative expressed their resolve to work towards the advancement of women and girls, with emphasis on educating girls and protecting them from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Deputising for the speaker of the Ecowas parliament, Honorable Victoria Saidu Kamara, fourth deputy speaker of the same parliament, thanked the Gambian leader for his immense support to the Ecofepa since its preliminary meetings last year to date. She told the gathering that the Ecowas parliament has constantly supported the idea of the establishment of this Association, noting that it issued a resolution to that effect since 2002.
Honorable Mullica Adeola of Ecofepa who delivered the vote of thanks, expressed gratitude to the Gambian leader for his immense support to them, describing him as a leader ahead of many of his colleagues. In the same vein, she equally thanked the Liberian president for her support and encouragement. The occasion, which was punctuated with presentation certificates to the Association's members, also saw the awarding of Presidents Jammeh and Serleaf for their support to the association. The well attended launching was chaired by Modou Saidy, press officer at State House.
President Jammeh was speaking Thursday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi while delivering a keynote speech during the formal launching of Ecofepa in The Gambia. The launching of the Association, with a membership comprising of both past and present Ecowas female parliamentarians, brought together key political figures and gender experts including the Gambia?s vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, the speaker of the National Assembly, the chief justice, cabinet ministers and sub-regional parliamentarians, amongst others.
President Jammeh, whose contribution to the advancement of African women was applauded by the sub-regional delegates, described the launching of the Association as solemn and a victory for participatory democracy in the Ecowas sub-region. "It is solemn because this is the first time in contemporary history that women of substance and vision who incidentally are the elected representatives of not only women but also men from all over West Africa, have come together in unity and purpose and resolve, to complement collective efforts of statesmen and state-parties in integrating the peoples of West Africa," the president explained.
He strongly emphasised that for development to take root in West Africa, all hands must be on deck. The fact that the elected representatives are resorting to an alternative avenue different from the platform provided by the Ecowas parliament, according him, shows that there is the need for alternative views and strategies.
Crucial role of women
To this end, The Gambian leader underscored the crucial role women play in society, citing their critical position in their respective homes. He described women as first schools of thought for anybody irrespective of the person's position in the society, stressing that maximum honour and respect should be given to them. He said the importance of women in socio-economic development cannot be overemphasised, explaining that this has been the reason his government gives women empowerment topmost priority.
He however dispelled any assertion that African women are neglected, given the fact that they are today, especially in The Gambia, more empowered than during the colonial era. He stated that today in The Gambia a woman is not poor because she is a woman, and pointed out that the women of this country are today better-off due to their hard work.
He told the gathering that The Gambian women have been in the forefront in all facets of national development, citing the appointments of women in cabinet including the vice president, as well as three women being at various times speakers of the country?s legislative house, amongst others.
Unity in Ecowas
President Jammeh also used the opportunity to stress the need for unity and a pragmatic approach to the harmonisation and integration of West Africans. He bemoaned the fact that today there are enormous problems in the West African region, saying that despite being rich in terms of natural resources, it still remains poor.
The president attributed the failure and the lack of ability to utilise the region's resources to the political misunderstanding and disunity at the level of the Ecowas bloc. "Despite the 30 years existence of Ecowas, we are still more divided now than before. Thirty years of Ecowas existence, we have not shown any infrastructural development as an achievement. Thirty years of Ecowas existence, we still cannot trade among ourselves, and we cannot even harmonise our common tariff. These are the sad realities," he stated.
He pointed out that Ecowas today has two monetary zones instead of one due to the unwillingness of the Francophone and the Anglophone to come together as one. This, he stressed, is among the factors why Ecowas is still finding it difficult to harmonise and integrate the sub-region.
The Gambian leader then urged Ecofepa to discard any sort of discrimination that will undermine the success of the Association, urging the members to see themselves as one body representing the people of the sub-region irrespective of being an Anglophone or Francophone. He then assured the Association of his government's support, while also assuring the Haddy Nyang Jagne, a Gambian who was elected the first president of Ecofepa of the nation's support.
The minister of Trade, Employment and Regional Integration, Abdou Kolley lauded the Gambia's stride in women empowerment, saying the effective implementation of Ecofepa's activities will provide economic opportunities and assist women and girls meet their developmental aspirations. He stressed the need for the numerous declarations and pledges made for the welfare of women and children to continue working for their total development and protection from economic exploitation and violence in particular.
He urged the members of Ecofepa to redouble their efforts in making the association a driving force for positive change in the region. Speaking earlier, the newly elected president of Ecofepa, Honorable Haddy Nyang Jagne, who is also a National Assembly member for Jeshwang Constituency, said her association seeks to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of Article 63 of the Revised Treaty of Ecowas. This article, she informed the gathering, enjoins member states to formulate, harmonise, co-ordinate and establish appropriate policies and mechanisms for the enhancement of the economic, social and cultural conditions of women. She expressed her resolve to collaborate with all the various stakeholders with a view to consolidate the gains registered. While commending the Gambian leader for his immense support to the advancement of African women, Honorable Jagne, who is also a member of the Ecowas parliament, thanked the president of Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her support.
Gambian-born Aminatta Dibba, director of Ecowas Gender Development Centre on behalf of Dr Adrienne Diop, Commissioner for Human Development and Gender of the Ecowas Commission, said the establishment of the Association will greatly contribute in the ongoing efforts to respond adequately to the challenges posed by the legislative dimensions of the fight for gender equity and equality in the sub-region. She expressed hope that Ecofepa could play a very important role in the consolidation of democracy, good governance, the rule of law and the respect for human rights in the Ecowas region. She then thanked the president for the strides made in the women empowerment endeavours.
For her part, Katrine Wasin, who represented the president of Liberia at the launching, thanked Ecofepa for this achievement. She spoke at length on the need to improve on the capacity gap in our societies, noting that the capacity gap at our institutions leaves much to be desired.
The Liberian president's representative expressed their resolve to work towards the advancement of women and girls, with emphasis on educating girls and protecting them from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Deputising for the speaker of the Ecowas parliament, Honorable Victoria Saidu Kamara, fourth deputy speaker of the same parliament, thanked the Gambian leader for his immense support to the Ecofepa since its preliminary meetings last year to date. She told the gathering that the Ecowas parliament has constantly supported the idea of the establishment of this Association, noting that it issued a resolution to that effect since 2002.
Honorable Mullica Adeola of Ecofepa who delivered the vote of thanks, expressed gratitude to the Gambian leader for his immense support to them, describing him as a leader ahead of many of his colleagues. In the same vein, she equally thanked the Liberian president for her support and encouragement. The occasion, which was punctuated with presentation certificates to the Association's members, also saw the awarding of Presidents Jammeh and Serleaf for their support to the association. The well attended launching was chaired by Modou Saidy, press officer at State House.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
FACTS ABOUT VIOLENCE
U.S. STATISTICS
Fact #1: 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #2: 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #3: Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police Lawrence A. Greenfeld et al. (1998). (Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends. Bureau of Justice Statistics Factbook. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ #167237. Available from National Criminal Justice Reference Service.)
Fact #4: The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
Fact #5: In the National Violence Against Women Survey, approximately 25% of women and 8% of men said they were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date in their lifetimes. The survey estimates that more than 300,000 intimate partner rapes occur each year against women 18 and older. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #6: The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years (Fisher 2000).
Fact #7: Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women (DeLahunta 1997).
Fact #8: Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) calculation based on 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
Fact #9: One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. (Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998)
Fact #10: Factoring in unreported rapes, about 5% - one out of twenty - of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. 19 out of 20 will walk free. (Probability statistics based on US Department of Justice Statistics)
Fact #11: Fewer than half (48%) of all rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (DOJ 2001).
Fact #12: Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death (National Research Council 1996).
Fact #13: Rape victims often experience anxiety, guilt, nervousness, phobias, substance abuse, sleep disturbances, depression, alienation, sexual dysfunction, and aggression. They often distrust others and replay the assault in their minds, and they are at increased risk of future victimization (DeLahunta 1997).
Fact #14: According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, more than 260,000 rapes or sexual assaults occurred in 2000; 246,180 of them occurred among females and 14,770, among males (Department of Justice 2001).
Fact #15: Sexual violence victims exhibit a variety of psychological symptoms that are similar to those of victims of other types of trauma, such as war and natural disaster (National Research Council 1996). A number of long-lasting symptoms and illnesses have been associated with sexual victimization including chronic pelvic pain; premenstrual syndrome; gastrointestinal disorders; and a variety of chronic pain disorders, including headache, back pain, and facial pain (Koss 1992).Between 4% and 30% of rape victims contract sexually transmitted diseases as a result of the victimization (Resnick 1997).
Fact #16: More than half of all rapes of women occur before age 18; 22% occur before age 12. (Full Report of the Prevalance, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #17: In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse (ACF 2002).
Fact #18: About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.
Fact #19: About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)
Fact #20: According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS), a national survey of high school students, 7.7% of students had been forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to. Female students (10%) were significantly more likely than male students (5%) to have been forced to have sexual intercourse. Overall, black students (10%) were significantly more likely than white students (7%) to have been forced to have sexual intercourse (CDC 2002).
Fact #21: Females ages 12 to 24 are at the greatest risk for experiencing a rape or sexual assault (DOJ 2001).
Fact #22: Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim. 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger (— 38% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 28% were an intimate and 7% were another relative.) (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2005)
Fact #23: The costs of intimate partner violence against women exceed an estimated $5.8 billion. These costs include nearly $4.1 billion in the direct costs of medical care and mental health care and nearly $1.8 billion in the indirect costs of lost productivity and present value of lifetime earnings. (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2003).
Fact #24: Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships. (NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, October 1996.)
Fact #25: Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System, 1993)
Fact #26: An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2000)
Fact #27: Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)
Fact #28: A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined. In this study domestic violence included injuries caused by street crime.
Fact #29: Following the Supreme Court's decision in 2000 to strike down the civil-rights provision of the Federal Violence Against Women Act (ruling that only states could enact such legislation), only two states in the country (Illinois and California) have defined gender-based violence, such as rape and domestic violence, as sex discrimination, and created specific laws that survivors can use to sue their perpetrators in civil court. (Kaethe Morris Hoffer, 2004).
Fact #30: A study reported in the New York Times suggests that one in five adolescent girls become the victims of physical or sexual violence, or both, in a dating relationship. (New York Times, 8/01/01)
GLOBAL STATISTICS
Fact #31: At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)
Fact #32: Globally, at least one in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)
Fact #33: A recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program revealed that 70% of those interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished. (The New York Times, 10/31/97)
Fact #34: 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. (United Nations)
Fact #35: An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year (UNICEF)
Fact #36: A 2005 World Health Organization study reported that nearly one third of Ethiopian women had been physically forced by a partner to have sex against their will within the 12 months prior to the study. (WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005)
Fact #37: In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia):
62% reported having been raped in prostitution.
73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution.
92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
(Melissa Farley, Isin Baral, Merab Kiremire, Ufuk Sezgin, "Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" (1998) Feminism & Psychology 8 (4): 405-426)
Fact #38: The most common act of violence against women is being slapped—an experience reported by 9% of women in Japan and 52% in provincial Peru. Rates of sexual abuse also varies greatly around the world—with partner rape being reported by 6% of women from Serbia and Montenegro, 46% of women from provincial Bangladesh, and 59% of women in Ethiopia. (WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005)
Fact #39: So-called "honour killings" take the lives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. (UNFPA)
Fact #40: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 2002 saw a 25% increase in “honor killings” of women, with 461 women murdered by family members in 2002, in 2 provinces (Sindh and Punjab) alone. (Pakistan Human Rights Commission, 2002)
Fact #41: More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
Fact #42: In eastern and souther Africa, 17 to 22% of girls aged 15 to 19 are HIV-positive, compared to 3 to 7% of boys of similar age. This pattern—seen in many other regions of the world—is evidence that girls are being infected with HIV by a much older cohort of men. (UNICEF/UNAIDS 2007)
Fact #43: : A 2005 study reported that 7% of partnered Canadian women experienced violence at the hands of a spouse between 1999 and 2004. Of these battered women, nearly one-quarter (23%) reported being beaten, choked, or threatened with a knife or gun. (Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, 2005)
Fact #44: In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare. (ZWRCN)
Fact #45: a study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were younger than 5. (UNFPA)
LINKS TO STATISTICS:
The following are a selection of other web sites at which to find and verify violence against women statistics.
Bureau of Justice: Crime and Victim Statistics
Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women
Family Violence Prevention Fund
RAINN Statistics
Violence Against Women Online Resources
World Health Organization: Gender Based Violence
Fact #1: 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #2: 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #3: Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police Lawrence A. Greenfeld et al. (1998). (Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends. Bureau of Justice Statistics Factbook. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ #167237. Available from National Criminal Justice Reference Service.)
Fact #4: The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
Fact #5: In the National Violence Against Women Survey, approximately 25% of women and 8% of men said they were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date in their lifetimes. The survey estimates that more than 300,000 intimate partner rapes occur each year against women 18 and older. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #6: The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years (Fisher 2000).
Fact #7: Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women (DeLahunta 1997).
Fact #8: Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) calculation based on 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
Fact #9: One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. (Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998)
Fact #10: Factoring in unreported rapes, about 5% - one out of twenty - of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. 19 out of 20 will walk free. (Probability statistics based on US Department of Justice Statistics)
Fact #11: Fewer than half (48%) of all rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (DOJ 2001).
Fact #12: Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death (National Research Council 1996).
Fact #13: Rape victims often experience anxiety, guilt, nervousness, phobias, substance abuse, sleep disturbances, depression, alienation, sexual dysfunction, and aggression. They often distrust others and replay the assault in their minds, and they are at increased risk of future victimization (DeLahunta 1997).
Fact #14: According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, more than 260,000 rapes or sexual assaults occurred in 2000; 246,180 of them occurred among females and 14,770, among males (Department of Justice 2001).
Fact #15: Sexual violence victims exhibit a variety of psychological symptoms that are similar to those of victims of other types of trauma, such as war and natural disaster (National Research Council 1996). A number of long-lasting symptoms and illnesses have been associated with sexual victimization including chronic pelvic pain; premenstrual syndrome; gastrointestinal disorders; and a variety of chronic pain disorders, including headache, back pain, and facial pain (Koss 1992).Between 4% and 30% of rape victims contract sexually transmitted diseases as a result of the victimization (Resnick 1997).
Fact #16: More than half of all rapes of women occur before age 18; 22% occur before age 12. (Full Report of the Prevalance, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #17: In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse (ACF 2002).
Fact #18: About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.
Fact #19: About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)
Fact #20: According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS), a national survey of high school students, 7.7% of students had been forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to. Female students (10%) were significantly more likely than male students (5%) to have been forced to have sexual intercourse. Overall, black students (10%) were significantly more likely than white students (7%) to have been forced to have sexual intercourse (CDC 2002).
Fact #21: Females ages 12 to 24 are at the greatest risk for experiencing a rape or sexual assault (DOJ 2001).
Fact #22: Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim. 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger (— 38% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 28% were an intimate and 7% were another relative.) (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2005)
Fact #23: The costs of intimate partner violence against women exceed an estimated $5.8 billion. These costs include nearly $4.1 billion in the direct costs of medical care and mental health care and nearly $1.8 billion in the indirect costs of lost productivity and present value of lifetime earnings. (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2003).
Fact #24: Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships. (NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, October 1996.)
Fact #25: Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System, 1993)
Fact #26: An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2000)
Fact #27: Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)
Fact #28: A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined. In this study domestic violence included injuries caused by street crime.
Fact #29: Following the Supreme Court's decision in 2000 to strike down the civil-rights provision of the Federal Violence Against Women Act (ruling that only states could enact such legislation), only two states in the country (Illinois and California) have defined gender-based violence, such as rape and domestic violence, as sex discrimination, and created specific laws that survivors can use to sue their perpetrators in civil court. (Kaethe Morris Hoffer, 2004).
Fact #30: A study reported in the New York Times suggests that one in five adolescent girls become the victims of physical or sexual violence, or both, in a dating relationship. (New York Times, 8/01/01)
GLOBAL STATISTICS
Fact #31: At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)
Fact #32: Globally, at least one in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)
Fact #33: A recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program revealed that 70% of those interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished. (The New York Times, 10/31/97)
Fact #34: 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. (United Nations)
Fact #35: An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year (UNICEF)
Fact #36: A 2005 World Health Organization study reported that nearly one third of Ethiopian women had been physically forced by a partner to have sex against their will within the 12 months prior to the study. (WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005)
Fact #37: In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia):
62% reported having been raped in prostitution.
73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution.
92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
(Melissa Farley, Isin Baral, Merab Kiremire, Ufuk Sezgin, "Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" (1998) Feminism & Psychology 8 (4): 405-426)
Fact #38: The most common act of violence against women is being slapped—an experience reported by 9% of women in Japan and 52% in provincial Peru. Rates of sexual abuse also varies greatly around the world—with partner rape being reported by 6% of women from Serbia and Montenegro, 46% of women from provincial Bangladesh, and 59% of women in Ethiopia. (WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005)
Fact #39: So-called "honour killings" take the lives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. (UNFPA)
Fact #40: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 2002 saw a 25% increase in “honor killings” of women, with 461 women murdered by family members in 2002, in 2 provinces (Sindh and Punjab) alone. (Pakistan Human Rights Commission, 2002)
Fact #41: More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
Fact #42: In eastern and souther Africa, 17 to 22% of girls aged 15 to 19 are HIV-positive, compared to 3 to 7% of boys of similar age. This pattern—seen in many other regions of the world—is evidence that girls are being infected with HIV by a much older cohort of men. (UNICEF/UNAIDS 2007)
Fact #43: : A 2005 study reported that 7% of partnered Canadian women experienced violence at the hands of a spouse between 1999 and 2004. Of these battered women, nearly one-quarter (23%) reported being beaten, choked, or threatened with a knife or gun. (Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, 2005)
Fact #44: In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare. (ZWRCN)
Fact #45: a study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were younger than 5. (UNFPA)
LINKS TO STATISTICS:
The following are a selection of other web sites at which to find and verify violence against women statistics.
Bureau of Justice: Crime and Victim Statistics
Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women
Family Violence Prevention Fund
RAINN Statistics
Violence Against Women Online Resources
World Health Organization: Gender Based Violence
Monday, March 15, 2010
GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE GAMBIA
Under the 1997 Constitution, women in the Gambia are accorded equal rights with men. Yet they continue to experience discrimination and inequality, largely because the patriarchal nature of Gambian society reinforces traditional roles of women. In addition, the country has a dual legal system that combines civil law (inspired by the British system) and Islamic Sharia. Provisions in Sharia are generally viewed to be discriminatory towards women, particularly in relation to marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Family Code:
Women in the Gambia face many discriminations and inequalities in regard to family matters. The laws recognise four forms of marriage: Christian, civil, customary and Mohommedan (which are governed by Sharia). The 1997 Constitution states that all marriages shall be based on the free and full consent of the intended parties, except under customary law which still supports the tradition of child betrothal. More than 90 per cent of Gambian women are governed by customary and Sharia law vis-à-vis their family relationships. The Gambia has no minimum legal age for marriage and the incidence of early marriage is high: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 39 per cent of girls in the Gambia between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Child marriage is not prohibited by law, and some girls are married off as young as the age of 12 years.
Polygamy is permissible under Sharia and is practised; Muslim men may take up to four wives. Wives whose husbands enter a second or subsequent marriage have the option to divorce, but they have no legal right to receive advance notice regarding the husband’s intentions or to give their approval.
Women also face discrimination in regard to parental authority. Sharia considers husbands to be the natural head of the family; as such, they have sole responsibility for matters concerning the raising of children.
Women’s rights with regard to inheritance depend on the law applied. Sharia provides for detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares, whereby women may inherit from their father, mother, husband or children and, under certain conditions, from other family members. However, their shares are generally only half of that to which men are entitled. Christian women and female children can receive properties under the wills of their husbands or fathers, but may also find themselves disadvantaged. Their law of inheritance permits husbands, if they so choose, to will away all property and leave nothing for their wives and children. Gambian law offers no protection to women in such cases. Under customary law, wives are not entitled to the property of their husband unless – and until – they agree to let themselves be inherited by the husband’s family. In effect, such women are treated as a form of property to be inherited along with the rest of their husbands’ assets.
Physical Integrity:
Protection for the physical integrity of Gambian women is weak. Violence against women, including domestic violence and abuse is rarely reported, but its occurrence is believed to be quite common. Even though wife-beating is a criminal offence (and constitutes grounds for divorce under civil law), the police typically consider such incidents to be domestic issues that lie beyond their jurisdiction. The Gambia does have laws prohibiting rape and assault, which are generally enforced. Spousal rape, however, is not specifically recognised.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widespread, especially in the Gambian countryside. The practice of FGM is illegal under the Penal Code but, to date, there have been no prosecutions for violations. Previous data from the Demographic and Health Surveys indicated that virtually all Gambian women had undergone FGM. A more recent estimate from the CPTAFE (Cellule de coordination sur les pratiques traditionnelles affectant la femme et l’enfant), a local NGO dedicated to eradicating FGM and ritual scarring, suggests the figure to be 65 per cent to 75 per cent. The lower figure, if accurate, would represent a decline over recent years, largely due to efforts by women’s rights groups to raise awareness about the health risks associated with the practice.
The population sex ratio in the Gambia has been stable for the past 50 years, suggesting it is not a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Ownership Rights:
Women in the Gambia have very few ownership rights. Concerning access to land, only a small proportion of women have titles to land property. The problem is especially acute in rural areas: traditional and cultural practices allow women to have the right to usufruct over land but forbid them from owning it. All women, whether married or single, have access to property other than land.
The law does not discriminate against women in the area of access to bank loans or credit facilities, but women in the Gambia face several obstacles in this area. For example, most financial institutions will not grant credit facilities unless the applicant has adequate security or collateral: in most cases, they will insist on property in the form of land. Since access to land is problematic for Gambian women, so is access to credit. Because of tradition and cultural practices, rural women are, strictly speaking, thereby effectively denied access to loans and credit.
Civil Liberties:
Women in the Gambia have civil liberty. There are no restrictions on women’s freedom of movement or freedom of dress.
Sources:
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Gambia, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/gambia_women.htm, accessed: May 2008.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2003), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Gambia, Combined First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/GMB/1-3, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004a), Summary Record of the 645th Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.645, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004b), Summary Record of the 646th Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.646, CEDAW, New York, NY.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Wo¬men and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
Morison, L., C. Scherf, G. Ekpo, K. Paine, B. West, R. Coleman, G. Walraven (2001), “The Long-term Reproductive Health Consequences of Female Genital Cutting in Rural Gambia: A Community Based Survey”, Tropical Medicine and International Health, Vol. 6 No. 8, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 643-53.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007a), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Gambia, The, US Depart¬ment of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007b), International Religious Freedom Report: Gambia, The, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
Family Code:
Women in the Gambia face many discriminations and inequalities in regard to family matters. The laws recognise four forms of marriage: Christian, civil, customary and Mohommedan (which are governed by Sharia). The 1997 Constitution states that all marriages shall be based on the free and full consent of the intended parties, except under customary law which still supports the tradition of child betrothal. More than 90 per cent of Gambian women are governed by customary and Sharia law vis-à-vis their family relationships. The Gambia has no minimum legal age for marriage and the incidence of early marriage is high: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 39 per cent of girls in the Gambia between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Child marriage is not prohibited by law, and some girls are married off as young as the age of 12 years.
Polygamy is permissible under Sharia and is practised; Muslim men may take up to four wives. Wives whose husbands enter a second or subsequent marriage have the option to divorce, but they have no legal right to receive advance notice regarding the husband’s intentions or to give their approval.
Women also face discrimination in regard to parental authority. Sharia considers husbands to be the natural head of the family; as such, they have sole responsibility for matters concerning the raising of children.
Women’s rights with regard to inheritance depend on the law applied. Sharia provides for detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares, whereby women may inherit from their father, mother, husband or children and, under certain conditions, from other family members. However, their shares are generally only half of that to which men are entitled. Christian women and female children can receive properties under the wills of their husbands or fathers, but may also find themselves disadvantaged. Their law of inheritance permits husbands, if they so choose, to will away all property and leave nothing for their wives and children. Gambian law offers no protection to women in such cases. Under customary law, wives are not entitled to the property of their husband unless – and until – they agree to let themselves be inherited by the husband’s family. In effect, such women are treated as a form of property to be inherited along with the rest of their husbands’ assets.
Physical Integrity:
Protection for the physical integrity of Gambian women is weak. Violence against women, including domestic violence and abuse is rarely reported, but its occurrence is believed to be quite common. Even though wife-beating is a criminal offence (and constitutes grounds for divorce under civil law), the police typically consider such incidents to be domestic issues that lie beyond their jurisdiction. The Gambia does have laws prohibiting rape and assault, which are generally enforced. Spousal rape, however, is not specifically recognised.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widespread, especially in the Gambian countryside. The practice of FGM is illegal under the Penal Code but, to date, there have been no prosecutions for violations. Previous data from the Demographic and Health Surveys indicated that virtually all Gambian women had undergone FGM. A more recent estimate from the CPTAFE (Cellule de coordination sur les pratiques traditionnelles affectant la femme et l’enfant), a local NGO dedicated to eradicating FGM and ritual scarring, suggests the figure to be 65 per cent to 75 per cent. The lower figure, if accurate, would represent a decline over recent years, largely due to efforts by women’s rights groups to raise awareness about the health risks associated with the practice.
The population sex ratio in the Gambia has been stable for the past 50 years, suggesting it is not a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Ownership Rights:
Women in the Gambia have very few ownership rights. Concerning access to land, only a small proportion of women have titles to land property. The problem is especially acute in rural areas: traditional and cultural practices allow women to have the right to usufruct over land but forbid them from owning it. All women, whether married or single, have access to property other than land.
The law does not discriminate against women in the area of access to bank loans or credit facilities, but women in the Gambia face several obstacles in this area. For example, most financial institutions will not grant credit facilities unless the applicant has adequate security or collateral: in most cases, they will insist on property in the form of land. Since access to land is problematic for Gambian women, so is access to credit. Because of tradition and cultural practices, rural women are, strictly speaking, thereby effectively denied access to loans and credit.
Civil Liberties:
Women in the Gambia have civil liberty. There are no restrictions on women’s freedom of movement or freedom of dress.
Sources:
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Gambia, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/gambia_women.htm, accessed: May 2008.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2003), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Gambia, Combined First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/GMB/1-3, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004a), Summary Record of the 645th Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.645, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004b), Summary Record of the 646th Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.646, CEDAW, New York, NY.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Wo¬men and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
Morison, L., C. Scherf, G. Ekpo, K. Paine, B. West, R. Coleman, G. Walraven (2001), “The Long-term Reproductive Health Consequences of Female Genital Cutting in Rural Gambia: A Community Based Survey”, Tropical Medicine and International Health, Vol. 6 No. 8, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 643-53.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007a), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Gambia, The, US Depart¬ment of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007b), International Religious Freedom Report: Gambia, The, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Rape : African Governments must Progressively and Aggressively Confront Pandemonium
The euphoria surrounding rape in Africa continues to be one of the most contentious issues facing governments around the continent. With the transformation of the continent along political, economical and social lines, the raping of women and girls brought to light the troubling reality for governments of both conflict and non-conflict-ridden societies. Rape has become so prevalent that a concerted global call for action has taken a forefront of international and African affairs.
International Human Rights Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations, in collaboration with the United Nations, and grass-roots civil society organizations in Africa, took a leading role in urging governments to take punitive actions against the menaces of rape across the continent. However, until now, numerous African governments continue to struggle with the rape pandemic that is ravaging the livelihood of women and girls across the continent.
Nonetheless, with the concerted International efforts, several international legal instruments were introduced and adopted by governments around the world- African governments included. The world has since then seen the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (Women, Peace and Security), 1820 (Sexual Violence in Conflicts) and most recently 1889 (Women, Peace and Security). These resolutions were founded on the fundamental premises of protecting women and girls, thus calling for their adoption, and punitive action against perpetrators.
Several governments responded positively through the adoption of prescriptive measures as codified under the doctrines of international legal mechanisms targeting rape and sexual violence. For example, countries such as Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Rwanda and Burundi adopted National Action Plans empowering and combating rape and sexual violence against women. Several other countries adopted legislations progressively and aggressively dealing with rape, sexual violence, and the empowerment of women. Today, almost all African countries have constitutional provisions targeting the onslaught. How that translates to protecting women remains to be the very good old question.
Even though constitutional provisions are the hallmark of Africa’s effort in combating rape and sexual violence against women, sporadic cases in thriving democracies makes the situation an abject matter of concern for pundits, scholars, and policy analysts. Implementation mechanisms of adopted international legislations are what many African nations are grappling with. It is therefore imperative that African governments introduce national awareness programs through education, and review policing procedures for appropriate response mechanisms at grass roots level. The experiences of Liberia, Sierra –Leone and Rwanda in combating widespread sexual violence could be very pivotal in crafting a continental plan to deal with the conundrum.
In a most recent development, growing sexual abuse against girls in Senegal prompted legal reforms. Although cultural and traditional barriers is expressed to be a major concern in dealing with rape in a predominantly Muslim country, Senegal is reported to be taking progressive and aggressive measures in combating the menaces of rape. According to the BBC,
The ministry wants to allow state approved associations to bring suits as civil plaintiffs. This will enable associations campaigning for the protection of the rights of women and children to press on with the process, even if the fathers and mothers of children who have been raped do not file a suit," says Judge Kandji. According to the judge, Justice Minister Moustapha Sourang also wants tougher rape sentences. He has proposed a minimum of 15 years jail time for perpetrators.
In view of the societal stigma attached to Rape, African governments must embark on legislative reforms for a progressive and aggressive confrontation of the rape pandemonium. Although an African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women calls on the elimination of all kinds of Sexual violence against women, it is imperative that an additional protocol calling for legal reforms for governments to adopt tougher punitive actions such as long term jail sentences, national awareness programs, and provisions allowing suits as civil plaintiffs, be introduced by the African Union for adoption by all member states of the African Union.
There is no doubt that once such an additional protocol is introduced and adopted, progressively and aggressively enforced, the menaces of rape across the continent may likely be effectively contained. What else could one say?
source: gainako.com
International Human Rights Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations, in collaboration with the United Nations, and grass-roots civil society organizations in Africa, took a leading role in urging governments to take punitive actions against the menaces of rape across the continent. However, until now, numerous African governments continue to struggle with the rape pandemic that is ravaging the livelihood of women and girls across the continent.
Nonetheless, with the concerted International efforts, several international legal instruments were introduced and adopted by governments around the world- African governments included. The world has since then seen the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (Women, Peace and Security), 1820 (Sexual Violence in Conflicts) and most recently 1889 (Women, Peace and Security). These resolutions were founded on the fundamental premises of protecting women and girls, thus calling for their adoption, and punitive action against perpetrators.
Several governments responded positively through the adoption of prescriptive measures as codified under the doctrines of international legal mechanisms targeting rape and sexual violence. For example, countries such as Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Rwanda and Burundi adopted National Action Plans empowering and combating rape and sexual violence against women. Several other countries adopted legislations progressively and aggressively dealing with rape, sexual violence, and the empowerment of women. Today, almost all African countries have constitutional provisions targeting the onslaught. How that translates to protecting women remains to be the very good old question.
Even though constitutional provisions are the hallmark of Africa’s effort in combating rape and sexual violence against women, sporadic cases in thriving democracies makes the situation an abject matter of concern for pundits, scholars, and policy analysts. Implementation mechanisms of adopted international legislations are what many African nations are grappling with. It is therefore imperative that African governments introduce national awareness programs through education, and review policing procedures for appropriate response mechanisms at grass roots level. The experiences of Liberia, Sierra –Leone and Rwanda in combating widespread sexual violence could be very pivotal in crafting a continental plan to deal with the conundrum.
In a most recent development, growing sexual abuse against girls in Senegal prompted legal reforms. Although cultural and traditional barriers is expressed to be a major concern in dealing with rape in a predominantly Muslim country, Senegal is reported to be taking progressive and aggressive measures in combating the menaces of rape. According to the BBC,
The ministry wants to allow state approved associations to bring suits as civil plaintiffs. This will enable associations campaigning for the protection of the rights of women and children to press on with the process, even if the fathers and mothers of children who have been raped do not file a suit," says Judge Kandji. According to the judge, Justice Minister Moustapha Sourang also wants tougher rape sentences. He has proposed a minimum of 15 years jail time for perpetrators.
In view of the societal stigma attached to Rape, African governments must embark on legislative reforms for a progressive and aggressive confrontation of the rape pandemonium. Although an African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women calls on the elimination of all kinds of Sexual violence against women, it is imperative that an additional protocol calling for legal reforms for governments to adopt tougher punitive actions such as long term jail sentences, national awareness programs, and provisions allowing suits as civil plaintiffs, be introduced by the African Union for adoption by all member states of the African Union.
There is no doubt that once such an additional protocol is introduced and adopted, progressively and aggressively enforced, the menaces of rape across the continent may likely be effectively contained. What else could one say?
source: gainako.com
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