The 16-day campaign against gender-based violence which runs every year from November 25th – Dec 10th seeks to intensify the support on eliminating violence against women and girls around the world. The theme of this year ‘UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls’ stresses on the importance of collective effort from every individual at various levels to prevent violence against women and girls and like many organisations, AMEF was actively involved. The organisation embarked on a health outreach and a school sensitization on the harmful effects of SRGBV.
The health Campaign which was done in Partnership with Fire Church under the leadership of Dr. Arit Ekobena took place at Ongot, Mbankomo sub-division in the Centre Region where activities included the provision of a free medical consultation, free screening on blood sugar level, high blood pressure, and free treatment to 63 adults (25 males and 37 females). Children were not left out of the activities as about a hundred of them received deworming tablets. The president and founder of AMEF Dr. M. Niger-Thomas who was present during the event remarked that the outreached was very timely and important to improve the health of the participants especially those ignorantly living with critical blood pressure conditions which if left unchecked, could result in more grievous health conditions.
The fight against GBV is an all year round effort and such activities should not end after the 16 days activism period. Despite the fact that it is not commonly discussed, educational institutions are not isolated from the discriminatory traditions, cultural norms, laws and policies that govern the society. As such educational institutions can implicitly legitimize harmful gender norms which can strengthen unequal power relations between boys and girls, teachers and students. Abuse such as verbal insults, bullying, teasing, abusive language from teachers, emotional manipulation (Psychological abuse), punching, shaking, choking, excessive exercise drills, preventing use of the toilet, exploitive labor are some of the forms of SRGBV which students could be exposed to and it is imperative to address these norms to prevent GBV in schools and the society as a whole.
The first activity under this campaign was the sensitization of students on the cause, effects and how to report SRGBV. Through this endeavour, students would be able to identify cases of discrimination and school-related gender based violence, understand how detrimental these acts are and possess adequate knowledge on how and who to report such incidences to within the school milieu.
The introductory session took place at Government High School Fiango, Kumba and saw the attendance of 251 students (150girls and 65boys) who were eager to learn about SRGBV. The meeting began with a presentation of concept words like gender, sex and sexual related gender-based violence. Students were further lectured on the different types of violence that they may be exposed to, its effects and how to report such incidents. The session ended with a question and answer where doubts were cleared and experiences were shared.
Even though the drivers of GBV are multiple and complex, its effects are far-reaching. It puts a strain on the healthcare system, education, social justice and limits the economy from achieving its full potential. Thus it is importance to not only tackle the problem from the roots but to also raise awareness on these harmful acts.