By Binta Jaiteh
Allagie Tambajang, an expert trainer of Health Promotion and Development Organization said culture of silence and fear is contributing to the rising of violence against women in the society.
Speaking exclusively to The Voice, he said: “especially if the person who has hurt them is more powerful and could harm again. Stigma victims may be afraid that if others know about the violence they will be blamed or isolated and belief about violence sometimes are seen as a normal way of dealing with such things.
According to him, sometimes victims do not trust the authorities or sometimes there are simply no authorities to visit when violence should be reported.
“Limited recording data collection, he said even if violence is reported there is often no record kept so that no one knows about the problem. The main setting where GBV is perpetrated is in our homes, schools, community and work place. Noting that UNHCR defined GBV as a person on the basis of gender or sex that includes acts that inflict physical mental or sexual harm, suffering and other deprivations of liberty,” he said.
“However, the consequences of gender based violence are violation of fundamental human rights and it can increase crime rate and also hinder productivity development leading to poverty. Some health consequences of GBV is fatal injuries, acute, chronic and chronic physical injuries meanwhile that can also lead to unsafe abortion as well as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and ALDS,” he added.
GBV is manifested through intimate partner violence or even denial of opportunity to work or earn economic gains according to him harmful traditional practices such as FGM/ C, child marriage and force marriage and condition wife inheritance.