PHOTO: VP Taylor (seated middle) posing for photo with participants
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
Liberia’s Vice President, Jewel Howard-Taylor has expressed concern on the increased rate of gender-based violence throughout the country and the rest of the world.
She said children as young as six, to 12 years old seem to be the latest target of sexual and gender-based violence in some cases, boys are not spared.
Vice President Taylor expressed her concern when she delivered the keynote speech marking the opening of a five-day workshop organized by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Center of Ghana in collaboration with the Catholic Relief Services and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in Monrovia on Monday.
“In recent times,” she went on, “there are lot of report of boys are really been raped and so this situation is very critical.”
According to her, sexual and gender-based violence affects the menthol capacity of anybody who is abused; thereby, depriving them the best opportunities they wanted to be.
Madam Taylor noted that it is something that brings shame on the persons affected by the sexually and gender-based violence and not the perpetrators; who will continue to cause one violence after another from community to another.
“In Liberia and across the West African region, you will find a very old man having a young girl as old as 13 or 14 in public places describing the girl as his young thing.”
“It is something that is accepted and we turn a blind eyes on these incidents which portrays that sexual based violence is very damaging at many levels”
“Regrettably,” she added: “most of people including mothers turn a blind eye looking at only physically violence abuses and gender-based abuses.”
The Liberia’s Vice President thanked the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Center and the Catholic Relief Services for undertaking the training of CSOs and local community leaders about the danger of gender-based violence in the society.
Earlier in welcome remarks, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Center, Major General Francis Ofori, said the training is intended to enhance the capacity of local community leaders in order to address the high rate of rape in the world including the West African region.
According to him, the workshop is aimed at enhancing individual skills, shape altitudes while building the sense for team work and collaboration of local actors.
Major General Francis Ofori
He cautioned the participants to share their knowledge they will acquire from the training in the respective communities in order to curb this devilish altitude.
“It is our expectation that you participants will this workshop to strengthening your capacity and add value to your professional life as you continue to fight against gender-based violence in the country”
For her part, the Country Manger of the Catholic Relief Service, Dr. Abena Amedormey said gender inequality has critical impact and it is intersect with trench of poverty, vulnerability and injustice.
According to her, CRS prioritizes women and girls empowerment in programming and implementation them in a prudent manner for the socio-economic and political status.
She explained that the abolition of gender-based violence is one of the five pillars that CRS is focusing on in its agenda between 2020 and 2030.
Dr. Amedormey indicated that gender-based violence poses a major threat to integral human development of project participants and prevent sect oral outcome.
She pointed out that decreasing gender-based violence requires community-based, multi -national approach and sustainable engagements with all the stakeholders involved.
“A number of our program addresses gender-based violence and we have successfully integrated gender across all of our programs in Liberia in particular,” she said; adding: “we do have a team to make sure that the fight against GBV is not negated in all of our programs,”
Based on this background,” she went on, “the CRS is seeking transformational change in all areas they are working through viewing programs that are genderless.”
The opening ceremony was graced by representatives of the Liberia National Police, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Protection, the Liberia’s Peace Building Office, the Ghanaian Embassy, civil society organizations , community leaders, among others.