Speaking during a recent training session on violence against women and girls held at the SDKJ International Conference Center, she stated: “Disturbingly, data from the National Gender Management Information System that the United Nations along with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare put in place in the Gambia. In 2023, we have registered 575 cases of gender based violence and these cases happened all over the country. In the Upper River Region, we have 53 cases, 45 cases for Central River Region, West Coast Region 265 cases, and the Greater Banjul Area 145 cases.”
She added that these under reported cases involved various violence such as rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, intimate partner violence and physical assault.
Madam Rose continued that unfortunately, none of the survivors has been able to access justice, saying it’s a reminder of the pressing need for immediate action to implement the already existing legislation that protect women and girls and prevent their abuse.
She buttressed that based on previous reports, the majority of the cases are perpetrated against young girls, saying that as they reiterate the happenings at the training workshop, it is crucial to shed light on the culture of violence possessing the country.
“The daily reports on violence against women and girls underscored the urgency for change to effectively combat gender-based violence in cities, towns and villages all over the countries. Local government authorities must undertake structural and programmatic changes and include a comprehensive gender transformative approach that puts women and girls at the center of their government agenda,” she said.
“Representative of local governments can be not only at the forefront of raising awareness about the prevalence of violence against women and girls but also need to be champions advocating to ensure the enforcement of protective mechanism against all forms of violence.”
