The violence against women is a global problem which many countries are now curtailing the acts. According to reports, at least one in every three women has been subjected to beaten, coerced injury, sex harassment otherwise abused globally.
Among those countries is The Gambia as both men and women in the country are calling for an end to the act in the country.
Sounding the reaction of the people include Tida Njie, the finance and administrative manager of Safe Hands for Girls correlated the practice to poverty and traditional practice like early child marriage.
“Child marriage has several consequences such as lack of maturity to prepare fully in emotionally and physically to get married,” she emphasised.
She also explained that the ramification to the early child marriage is when she is giving birth which may lead to surgery and that might perhaps leads her to experience both physical and mental trauma.
She said that measures should be put in place to make sure that child marriage ends in the Gambia, adding that this can be done through sensitization across the country.
There is already a law of child marriage which stated that child marriage has been banned in the country, if one is caught liable for it, the person involved in such practicing of child marriage, be it the parents, or inmate relatives will be jailed for 21 years, she said.
Despite the law, she called for more advocacies on the issue in the country, saying that most of the people in the country do not understand this provision on child marriage.
She added that: “There is a lot of work to be done but there are consequences that have been put in place for in case one is found as a victim.”
Author: Maria Lopes