For the next 15 months, EQUIPOP will work with two consortia of West African feminist organizations sponsored by the Feminists in Action fund. Five West African countries (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire) will receive support for initiatives to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
THE NEED FOR SGBV DATA: AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE
“Setting up effective tools to collect data on SGBV will reveal the magnitude of the problem and encourage authorities and CSOs to come up with comprehensive solutions that ensure the protection and upholding of women’s rights,” says Souwaiba IBRAHIM from Ligue Nigérienne des droits des femmes (the Nigerien League for Women’s Rights).
With the alarming absence of data on SGBV, the LIGUES consortium, which includes the Women’s Rights Leagues of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Niger, plans to lobby public authorities in favor of a budget line for the creation or the enhancement of already existing systems for data collection on SGBV.
The consortium will undertake the following actions:
- A thorough per-country analysis of existing systems for collecting data on SGBV;
- An advocacy report in collaboration with experts and survivors of violence, outlining relevant data and procedures of each country (i.e., required measures and budgeting) that can facilitate the creation of a reliable and high-quality system for data collection;
- A mass media campaign to mobilize the public and encourage debate in favor of the collection of qualitative data on SGBV;
- Anti-violence runs in major cities;
- Meetings to advocate for explicit commitments from relevant authorities.
A CRITICAL NEED FOR HOLISTIC CARE CENTERS FOR SURVIVORS OF SGBV
The ROAJELF consortium (comprising ROAJELF Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal) aims to influence national and sub-regional officials through advocacy to create or expand holistic care centers for survivors of SGBV.
With the support of EQUIPOP, the project team will undertake the following actions:
- A per-country inventory of all facilities for survivors of domestic violence so that the project team can easily identify the appropriate standards for quality holistic care;
- A cross-analysis of common practices and challenges revealed in the three inventories to better grasp the reality of the grassroots level and promote best practices and advocacy that is tailored to the needs of locals;
- A mobilization of artists to showcase the results of the analysis, raise awareness of the lack of holistic centers for survivors, and call on the general public and allies to commit to public action;
- National advocacy meetings with government bodies and regional authorities dealing with domestic violence issues (i.e., the consortium’s attendance at the annual Economic Community of West African States meeting – ECOWAS).
FEMINISM AND SISTERHOOD IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SGBV
In the words of Souwaiba IBRAHIM from the Nigerien League for Women’s Rights, all projects included in canal 3 of the Feminist in Action program are “the fruition of a sorority and feminist militancy that goes beyond national borders.” West African feminists long sought after this regional sisterhood. It is finally coming together in a ground-breaking alliance, marking the first time that the three women’s rights leagues of West Africa and the three ROAJELF consortiums work on a joint project.