Rescue Children’s on 16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence

By Benedict Freedom

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

The international campaign originated from the first women’s global leadership institute coordinated by the centre for women’s Global leadership in 1991 and continues to this day as reminder of the gender-based many women and girls across the world face on a daily basis. 

Gender based violence can be defined as violence directed at an individual based on his/her biological sex, gender identity or perceived adherence to socially defined norms of masculinity and feminity. Gender based violence can take many forms and cuts across all layers of society. It includes physical, sexual or psychological abuse, threads coercion, arbitrary deprivation of liberty; and economic deprivation weather in public or private life.

From the 25^th November-10^th December every year is commemorated as the international day for the Elimination of violence against women and girls. This year theme for the 2017 campaign is ″Together we can End GBV in Education’’.

Rescue Children and Youth Film Foundation is a non-profit organisation headed by Mr. Sammy Baimba a goodwill philanthropist in Sierra Leone. It mission is to provide and engaging a safe environment where underprivileged children neutral abilities can be expressed and nurtured. 

The foundation provides a platform which the children can develop their creativity and enables them to produce something that they can be proud off. We use film, music, arts etc as an advocacy tool to advocate and campaign against Early/Child/Force marriage and other forms of gender based violence.

As part of this year campaign the foundation organised sensitization campaign targeting communities and schools within the municipality of Makeni. The schools targeted were Alagendra secondary school, SLMB and Oxford International Academy. The messages the sensitization targeted are: ‘’My Life, My Body, and My Education’’, ‘’ No education, no progress! Help end gender-based violence in education’’, ‘’ Together we can end gender-based violence in education’’. Amongst others.

Below are Photos of Pupils displaying vanguard of messages to end GENDER BASED VIOLENCE with the Coordinator of Makeni chapter Mr. Benedict AbuBakarr Conteh and Schools representatives.