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Kabba MJ Bojang disclosed this on behalf of the Country Director of UNICEF Gambia during a recent meeting held at the organisation’s conference hall.
The conference brought together doctors, nurses, midwives, medical and dental board members, female lawyers and other stakeholders to address key issues affecting children, including female genital mutilation and other types of gender-based violence.
Boyan reiterated that the agency is a child protection organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights and well-being of children.
He went on to say that the convergence of violence against children and female genital mutilation highlights the interconnectedness of issues affecting children and the need to address them.
He also said violence against children and female genital mutilation were serious human rights violations that “disproportionately affect girls and young women” and were often rooted in gender inequality and cultural practices.
He said a key point in its programme principles is to ensure that issues are evidence-based, adding that UNICEF Gambia and its three local partners, Foni Ding Ding, Saama Kairo and Ding Ding Yiriwa, have carried out community-based child protection mapping (CBCPM) in Besse, Sanyang and Busura communities where issues of child marriage, female genital mutilation and frequent road accidents involving children are clearly visible.
He called for joint efforts to resolve these problems.
In her speech, Samba Keita, Business Development Specialist at UNICEF Gambia, stressed that gender-based violence remains one of the most significant human rights violations in society.
He acknowledged that both men and women were threatened, but that “most victims were women and girls”.
“The terms gender-based violence and violence against women are often used interchangeably because there is a widespread perception that most gender-based violence is perpetrated by men against women and girls,” he said.
Keita further elaborated on the various types of abuse, the prevalence of violence against children and the psychological and physical impact it has on children.
Fatou Jarra, GAMTROP Project Coordinator, also spoke about relevant hot issues, including facts and figures on FGM, global and local statistics on FGM, and the cultural, social and health impacts of this deeply rooted cultural practice.
She stressed that female genital mutilation is a barbaric practice that violates the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls.
“FGM is deeply ingrained in our culture, and culture is not static but dynamic and subject to change, especially when there is overwhelming evidence that FGM is harmful to the health and well-being of women and girls,” she said. “The practice violates individuals’ rights to health, safety and bodily integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.”
To this end, she revealed that such acts committed against girls under the age of 15 violated the human rights of girls and women.
The conference also featured presentations on the types and prevalence of abuse and violence against children, forms of abuse, global and local statistics on FGM, and child rights guidelines. The conference also featured a panel discussion on multidisciplinary approaches to address violence and FGM, and provide medical and psychological support to FGM survivors.
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