The three-day capacity building held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, brought together judicial, health, and social actors to devise means of strengthening their capacities to handle GBV cases effectively.
Moreover, the event came on the heels of a recent commitment made during the ECOWAS Regional Training held in Lomé, Togo, in 2024, during, which one of the key objectives was to develop a national roadmap for implementing the ECOWAS Strategy on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Addressing the opening, Fatou Kinteh, Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, underscored the need for urgency in tackling GBV cases in the country, describing it as a pressing challenge in the country and across the region.
Minister Kinteh made reference to recent statistics from The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS), which revealed that 20.1% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, while 7.5% have suffered sexual violence.
“These figures are not just numbers, but they represent the painful reality of countless women and girls who endure trauma and injustice in silence,” she said.
The workshop she added, is a crucial step in ensuring that survivors receive the medical, legal, and psychosocial support they need while holding perpetrators accountable. Despite progress, challenges still remain, the gender minister said and also commented on the entrenched social norms that discourage survivors from reporting abuse, weak law enforcement, and limited funding for GBV programs.
She, however, observed that the country is making strides through laws such as the Women’s Act (2010), Sexual Offences Act (2013), Domestic Violence Act (2013), and the Gender Policy (2023-2032).
"The training also explores innovative solutions, including digital tools for GBV reporting, online counselling services, and data-driven policymaking," she said.
She also noted the government has committed additional funding to supporting GBV survivors through the GBV Fund and Gender Legal Fund (GLF) for 2024 and 2025.
To that end, she remains hopeful that the discussions and training will lead to stronger protections for survivors and a more coordinated response to GBV in The Gambia and the wider ECOWAS.
Madam Odile Ndumbe Faye, programme officer for Gender and Civil Society at the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre announced that ECOWAS has secured a $1.2 million grant to support the fight against GBV across its member states.
The funds, she explained, will be used to align national laws with regional policies and improve GBV prevention and response mechanisms.
Political Adviser Claude Kondor, representing ECOWAS reaffirmed the bloc’s commitment to combating GBV, saying ECOWAS has developed policies, including the Declaration on Zero Tolerance to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and the ECOWAS Policy on Sexual Harassment in Workplaces and Educational Institutions.
“ECOWAS is actively working with The Gambia to strengthen policy frameworks, provide technical support, and enhance collaboration with stakeholders to eliminate GBV,” he stated.
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