International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 26, 2020 –(PR.com)– In observing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Dr. Richard Konteh highlights the importance of these efforts. He said, violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today, and it remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.

Efforts to prevent and end violence against women at the global, regional and national levels shows that there is widespread impunity on sexual violence and rape.

Sierra Leone has a long history of violence against women and girls. Dr. Richard Konteh states that though Sierra Leone has come a long way in the fight to prevent and eliminate the different forms of violence against women and girls, there is so much work to be done.

Violence against women and girls manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing; intimate partner violence like battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide; sexual violence and harassment like rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment; human trafficking including slavery, and sexual exploitation; female genital mutilation; and child marriage.

Violence against women and girls is as serious a cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined.

Dr. Richard Konteh said more needs to be done by improving countrywide access to legal and health services and to ensure all people are treated equally before the law.

As part of his Unifier campaign, Dr. Richard Konteh pledges his support to national and international efforts to end violence against women and girls.