Make Every Woman Count
Policy plans on FGM have also been enacted across the West African region. Burkina Faso adopted the National Action Plan on the Elimination of FGM 2010-–2015, and the National Strategic Plan 2016–2020 aims to reduce the prevalence rate by 20%. Gambia has incorporated training and sensitisation on FGM in the curriculum of the nursing school.1590 Many West African countries adopted institutional reform on VAW and harmful practices during the AWD. Liberia and Sierra Leone stand out in terms of their provisions to increase women’s access to justice. In Liberia, two criminal courts were established, in the counties of Montserrado and Nimba, to hear rape cases exclusively.1591 In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs and the police set up a National Committee on GBV in 2010, to ensure implementation of the National Gender Plan. Moreover, the government created family support units – specialised units embedded in police stations across the country to investigate child abuse and VAW.1592 Notably, the Sierra Leonean government set up a Constitutional Review Committee in 2016 that highlighted the key contestations related to harmful practices that need to be addressed.1593
Figure 28 West Africa: women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life, 2019 (% of ever-partnered women)
Other countries have also implemented specific programmes aimed at supporting survivors of sexual violence, including measures to increase access to justice and ensure adequate care. In terms of the latter, Senegal’s 2017–2021 Action Plan for the Eradication of GBV and the Promotion of Human Rights aims to guarantee “free assistance and psychological support for victims.”1594 In 2010, Mali created 10
Guinea 80.0%
Senegal 78.0%
Benin 68.6%
safe houses for women and children (two in the capital Bamako and eight in the regional capitals); in 2018, a one stop centre designed for survivors of VAW was built. In the same vein, the Malian government built women’s houses for counselling of victims of VAW in 2018.1595
Sierra Leone 45.3%
Liberia 38.5%
Mali 34.6%
The Government of Sierra Leone’s measures include free medical examinations for all victims of VAW and special family support units within police stations across the country. Moreover, in Sierra Leone, where an incident is reported every 48 hours, the president proclaimed
Côte d'Ivoire 25.9%
Ghana 24.4%
Togo 22.1%
rape and sexual violence a national emergency in 2018 and has pledged to implement further appropriate measures.1596 Some countries in the region have also made strides in training their
Gambia 20.1%
Nigeria 16.2%
Burkina Faso 11.5%
police force to deal with VAW. In 2012, the Nigerian police launched a Gender Policy to check the occurrence of VAW within the police or by its officers. Similarly, since 2016, Senegal has developed tools for the continuous training of health personnel and vast awareness programmes for magistrates and judicial police officers, specifically on
No data available for Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Niger. Source: OECD (2020) “Violence against women (indicator)” .
the content of the law prohibiting excision. Moreover, Senegal and Togo have gradually integrated the issue of VAW into school curricula.
5.3. Challenges and Gaps Observing the trends, some gaps and contestations emerge. While many West African countries have taken steps to curb VAW and harmful practices, such practices remain prevalent. No existing legislation in certain areas and weak legal provisions in others can, in part, explain the persistence of these practices. During the AWD, some countries adopted constitutional provisions on harmful practices; others did not. In the latter, the national constitutions focus mainly on ensuring the “security of the person” from degrading acts and equality regardless of gender.
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