Dakar, November 26, Authorities at Monday’s regional launch of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign to end Violence against women and girls have called on governments and lawmakers to strenghten legislations against gender-based violence.

Speaking at the regional launch in Dakar Monday, Senegal’s Minister for children, women and female entrepreneurship Mariama Sarr said the Government of Senegal will work actively with the United Nations and partners to propose solutions for the victims and to make an end to violence against Senegalese women and girls.

Justice Minister Aminata Toure described the event as an ‘intense communication towards different target groups including the authorities to make sure they realize that gender violence is a very serious issue and they need to act upon it, and to keep their promises to protect women and girls.’

She added that the event also means engaging the men to be more involved as well as talking to religious leaders and to young people for a strong coalition to protect women against violence.

Ms. Toure lamented the fact that women and girls who are victimized do not always report their ordeals to the authorities and called for concerted efforts to end the silence. These efforts, she noted, include training the police to handle cases filed by women victims and targeting the health system and religious leaders.

For her part, the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms Bintou Djibo in citing the message of Executive Director for UN Women Ms Michele Bachelet on the occasion of the International day for the elimination of Violence Against Women and girls ( November 25^th),  said the launch of the 16 Days of Activism is a day of mobilization and discussions on the strategies, root causes and solutions regarding gender-based violence. She expressed confidence that ‘through the 16 days of campaign, we’ll be able to bring the plight of women and girls to the attention of the population.’ 

As part of the launch, Moolaadé  an acclaimed 2004 film by the late prominent Senegalese film-maker, Ousmane Sembene was shown. The film, set in Burkina Faso, celebrates the triumphant story of a group of women who stand up for the rights of their daughters against female genital cutting despite resentment and violence  in the village.

At the end of the film, a debate was held to discuss the lessons learnt from Sembene’s work.

The 16 Days of Activism continues. A series of activities will take place in the West Africa Region to raise awareness on women issues and gender based violence.

Click here, To find out what is happening in West Africa during the 16 days  Campaign