MONROVIA, Oct.21 (LINA) – The Director of the Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Crimes Unit of Persecution at the Ministry Justice, Cllr Isaac George, has said with support from the Liberian Government and international partners, including the United Nations, UNDP and European Union (EU), there have been “tremendous progress” made in the fight against SGBV.
According to him, the issue of violence against women and girls is being highlighted more than ever before in the country’s history, adding that if statistics and analysis are conducted about persons who have been punished over SGBV in Liberia today, it has more individuals punished as compared to the past.
‘’The fact that cases are coming out and perpetrators are being punished tells you that citizens now trust the system, they believe that persons who are violated have a forum for redress,” Cllr. George emphasized.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Monrovia during the conclusion of a two-day Spotlight Initiative, Cllr. George stated that being in modest dress code doesn’t give any man the right to cause sexual violence against women and girls.
He noted that few years ago in the rural parts of Liberia, women went at the creek and took off their clothes to take bath and no man ever had the sexual appetite to rape them.
At the same time, the lawyer said there are also serious transformation in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as there are traditional individuals and elders who now understand that FGM is a violation against women and girls compared to few years ago when everyone understood that it was a good practice.
The Director said the more people get educated, the more aware people are, and they will be able to protect themselves to be victims or perpetrators.
For her part, the freelance Consultant on SGBV, Caroline Bowah, said the Spotlight Initiative is a bigger program that is being implemented by the Government of Liberia and development partners
According to her, the Spotlight Initiative is specifically working to support the Government of Liberia to fight the issue of SGBV and harmful practices.
The Technical Assistant at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mohammed Massalee, said the initiative funding covers five counties that include Lofa, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Cape Mount and Montserrado and the bigger goal is to eliminate the issue of SGBV and harmful practices in the society.
Massalee said if there is going to be expansion to other counties, the Government is going to engage the UN and other partners to see if they can expand their initiative.
Jefferson Tenge